


The Demon's Bond

by CirqueBordello (CircusTalia)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: BDSM, Demon Summoning, Demons, F/M, Human/Monster Romance, M/M, Past Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Size Difference, Size Kink, Teasing, Will Add More Tags as Fic Goes On, all main characters are 18+, but delves into BDSM as the relationship progresses, starts out kinda vanilla
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2019-07-06 17:49:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 58,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15891006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CircusTalia/pseuds/CirqueBordello
Summary: Lance aspires to become famous for his discovery and venture into the occult. He wants to be like the ghost hunters and the vloggers that chase after the supernatural. If only he wasn't a huge scaredy cat. In an effort to overcome his fears, he does the boldest thing he can think of: summon a demon. He requests to film the demon, Takashi Shirogane, performing his power and more to transform into a money-making script. Shiro is intrigued and the two enter a unique type of contract. Lance doesn't know what to do with himself now that Shiro's a part of his life. He feels equal parts scared and aroused, but then starts to have another emotion thrown in the mix: love.





	1. A Deal of a Lifetime

**Author's Note:**

> This work was inspired from art by santeria on Tumblr. Give their blog a look at http://santeria.tumblr.com/.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the camera set up, Lance summons a demon.

The last of the candles was lit up on the symbol-covered floor. The lights were off, with a camera set in place atop the coffee table that was pushed back, close to the wall. Lance's nerves were shaking, goosebumps covering his arms with a printed off page in hand. All he had to do now was read the inscription aloud. 

He didn't know if summoning a demon would really work. He hoped it did, but he can't say he would be too disappointed if it didn't. He had asked his friends to help out with the ritual, but Pidge was nowhere to be found (most likely working on a project) while Hunk outright refused (the traitor; Lance would wager that Hunk would have been on board if it were for Pidge). But he was determined to do it, even if it was on his own. Those vlogs with the two guys who are constantly stalked by cryptids made encounters with the unknown look easy. Then again, those vlogs were fictional. But fiction has to be based on some reality. The ghost hunting shows had a basis for reality. Lance imagined himself in front of a camera with the same charisma as those ghost hunters, reminding himself what he was doing this for. He took a deep breath, looked down at the page, and started chanting.

As he recited the chant, his nerves increased. Deep down, he knew this was a bad idea. A really bad idea. But he had to try. Even as his voice wavered with each word, words that he had no idea if he was pronouncing correctly. Once he got to the end of the page, looked at the symbol-inscribed floor. The candles flickered. The night remained outside. He looked around, wondering if he had missed something. He took a look back at the page. 

"Hm....I wonder if I got the right candles," he said to himself. 

Just then, a black mist waved above the floor. It swirled up into the ceiling, Lance backing away from the symbol. A pair of golden eyes stared down at him, and Lance swore he could feel it smiling at him. The pair of eyes had been closer to the ceiling, but as they stared down at Lance, they lowered. What emerged from the mist was a tall, broad shouldered man with antlers coming out of his head and long, black nails with a scar across his nose. He put a hand on his hip, licking his lips and it was clear he had fangs. 

"Hello, delicious," the man said.

Lance screamed at the top of his lungs. His knees shook as the dark mist took a hold of him.

"Shh, it's okay," the demon shushed. "I'm not gonna hurt you if you don't say the wrong thing."

The darkness let go of the human.

"Uh...hi," he waved. Looking at the man, he noticed his white forelock, and Lance gulped. Whatever it was that emerged was incredibly handsome. "W-who are you?"

"Me?" The demon took a step forward, a tail swinging behind him. "I have gone by many names. My professional name is Takashi Shirogane. But for a handsome fellow such as yourself, Shiro will suffice."

Shiro. Such a strange name for someone that came out of darkness. But the more Lance heard Shiro's voice, the more aroused he became. He covered a fake cough as he continued. 

"Oh, so, uh, Shiro. I have brought you here to inquire about your services."

"And what services do you need of me? Are you looking for revenge?" Shiro looked down at Lance. "Or perhaps you want riches? Fame? Maybe you think you need to become much more beautiful than you already are," he whispered in Lance's ear, making Lance shudder.

"No, none of that," Lance managed to answer. "Well, maybe the fame part, but not immediate fame."

"Hm?" Shiro backed away. "What do you request, then?"

"Uh...my request," Lance tapped his fingers together, "I mean, I don't know if this is possible, but.....could I record you and your powers?"

Shiro perked an eyebrow. "What?" 

The demon saw the camera from the corner of his eye, the camera's red light blinking. He looked back at Lance.

"You want to record me?"

"Y-yeah," Lance butted his forefingers together. "I-I want to record you and keep a record of us together. G-get to know you more and then turn it all into a script."

"Oh," Shiro folded his arms together, "you want to make a story out of me. For profit."

Lance shrunk. "Uh....yes?"

The demon gave a smirk. "Very well. I can do that for you."

"Really?!" Lance jumped. Then he frowned. "Oh, right. You're probably not gonna do it for free. So, you're not gonna take my soul until after I die, right?"

The demon let out a hearty laugh. His laugh was maniacal, making Lance even more scared and aroused. Shiro shook his head.

"A deal like this isn't worth a soul."

"If not my soul, then what?"

Shiro hummed, leaning his head to the side. "Hm.....I'd say ten years off your life would suffice."

"Ten years of my life?"

"Mhmm. You can record me all you want and ask me all kinds of questions. And in return, you give me ten years of your life."

"A-and, ten years is how many of my lifespan?"

Shiro shook a finger. "Nu-uh-uh, you don't get to know that," he poked Lance's forehead lightly. 

Lance froze in thought. Would he really give up ten years for this demon? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. If Lance would grow old, at least he could live long enough to live a full life and make money out of his experiences with the demon. But Lance didn't know if he would live that long. For all he knew, he could live up until he was forty or fifty. He glanced at the camera still recording. He needed to decide soon.

"There is one other form of payment you can give me."

Lance snapped out of his trance. He looked up at the demon, who kept that grin on his face.

"First, your name."

"Pfft, all I need to do is give you my name?" Lance chuckled. "It's Lance-"

"Your name is not payment," Shiro's face grew deadpan. "And for future reference, you might want to be careful when handing your name over to a demon." Shiro took a moment to compose himself. "No, what I offer is this: in lieu of handing me ten years of your life, I will give you two hundred years-"

"Two hundred years?!"

"-as my bonded partner," Shiro finished, pushing a finger against Lance's lips. "You and I will have a bond that shall last two hundred years where we will give ourselves to one another. I do what you want, and you will do what I want, satisfying my cravings. That is my offer."

When Shiro's finger dropped from Lance's lips, Lance's mouth was agape. No. He couldn't be bonded to this creature. He didn't know what this creature would do to him. For as attractive as he was, he didn't know how trustworthy Shiro was. 

"A-and if I refuse to make any sort of deal with you?" Lance grinned, thinking he had one over the demon.

Shiro laughed, relaxing his arms. "Oh, Lance." Shiro grew in size, practically looming over Lance and growing beefier. Lance felt like he melted into a puddle as Shiro brought his face closer to his. "You don't want to know what happens when you waste a demon's time."

Lance gulped. His cock was getting hard out of this. He realized then what was the better option between losing ten years from an unknown amount of lifespan versus living an extra two hundred years being bonded to the scary handsome demon. He looked behind the demon, back at the camera. He had to do this.

"Uh...," Lance was still shaking and sweating as he looked into the golden eyes of the demon. "I-I'll take the latter payment plan, then." He held his hand out.

Shiro looked down and engulfed the smaller human's hand with his own overly large one. 

"I knew you'd make the right choice," he closed his eyes, giving a more innocent smile back. He shrunk back down to the size he was when appearing before Lance.

When they let go, Shiro flung Lance over his shoulders, carrying him to the bedroom. Lance yelped as he was carried, face flushing and shivering. The demon set him gently on the bed, where Lance closed his eyes, awaiting to be fucked by him.

When Lance worked up the courage to peak an eye open, Shiro was merely staring back at him. 

"Um...you're not gonna, you know?" Lance stuck a finger through a hole he made with his other hand.

"I'm not in the habit of using force like that," Shiro answered. "I know I'll have you eventually, even if it's not tonight."

"Oh...." Lance looked up and down the demon. He already made it this far with him, might as well get on with the activities. It didn't help that he had a visible erection from this interaction. "I don't mind doing it now."

"Are you sure?"

Lance nodded. 

Shiro eyed down Lance, noticing the bulge in his pants. He chuckled, laying a hand on Lance's chest and kissing his neck. 

"What a strange one you are," he held Lance's shoulders as Lance shuddered. "Would you prefer me to look more human?"

"No, the way you are now is fine," Lance answered honestly. 

Shiro sniffed Lance before pulling him in for a kiss. He slid his hands down to Lance's pants, pulling them down. With the snap of his fingers, Shiro was in the bare nude. He lifted Lance up, sticking his dick inside of Lance's hole. Shiro let out hard breaths, Lance gasping with every thrust. The demon lifted the human's shirt up, letting his nails trail over Lance's brown skin. 

Lance was already leaking and he panted loudly. Shiro felt so big inside of him. He didn't know how Shiro was able to slip his dick inside of him, considering he didn't see him grab any lube. He took a peak down, taking a glimpse at ooze that secreted from Shiro's dick before being lifted back up. He didn't think it was cum, although in fairness, he didn't know how demon biology worked, so it very well could have been.

When Shiro came in Lance, he let go and laid down next to him. He scratched the side of Lance's head lazily until he fell asleep. The feeling of the long nails over his hair had an odd sort of comfort over Lance.  

If the contract wasn't sealed before, it was sealed now. Lance had a feeling that these would be a long two hundred years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed. I know I haven't been writing much in a while, so I hope this fic will help me out somewhat. While this fic will have smut, it'll also have some plot. I'd appreciate any feedback that can be given.


	2. Friends' Tuition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is forced to take Shiro with him to meet his friends. If only his friends weren't stranger than demons.

Lance gave out a yawn, stretching his arms and cracking his fingers as he woke up. That was some dream he had, summoning a demon and banging him. But he felt a soreness in his bum and legs, not knowing why. That is, until he saw the sleeping demon next to him. He screamed as he fell off the bed. It was real. It really happened. He was bonded to a demon. Shiro looked down at Lance from the bed.

Lance noticed that Shiro appeared completely human. His ears were normal, his antlers and fangs were gone. Even his fingers lacked the sharp edge to them. 

"Why do you look like that?"

Shiro looked at him in confusion. Then he realized what he meant. 

"Oh, you mean human? Well, I figured it'd be easier to walk around if I looked like your kind."

"You're not planning on going outside are you?"

"Why wouldn't I?" With a snap of his fingers, Shiro was dressed, wearing a black shirt with light pants. "You don't expect me to be cooped up in here, do you?"

Before Lance could say anything, Shiro got out of bed and walked to the door.

"You might as well get up soon, too. Unless you want me to keep you in bed all day long."

The door closed behind him and Lance was aggravated. He tried to stand, walking as best he could to put some clothes on. This demon would be the end of him, but he's also what would make him famous. As Lance pulled a shirt over his torso, he realized he forgot to turn off the camera. He rushed out the door and into the living room, only to find everything neatly put back together. The sofa and coffee table were back in place, the symbol on the floor gone. The candles were lined up on the counter and Shiro was seated at the table, looking at himself through one of Lance's carrier mirrors.

"Did you clean this all up?" Lance asked.

"Yes, I did," Shiro ran his fingers through his tuft. "And if you're wondering where your camera is, it's still on the sofa."

Lance spotted the camera on the arm rest and picked it up. He clicked it on, looking through the footage he got. Everything was still there, though it cut off at the part where Shiro picked up Lance. He sighed in relief.

"Are you planning on publishing our first meeting?" Shiro set the mirror down.

"Oh, I mean, I could, but if you don't want me to-"

"Because that would be awfully romantic of you."

Lance blushed.

"Uh....romantic?"

"Yeah," Shiro got up, bringing Lance closer to him. "How nervous you were when summoning me. The way you asked for me. Such a cute little scaredy cat, aren't you?" Shiro grazed his lips along Lance's ears, making Lance shiver. He was afraid of what the demon would do to him now that they were bonded. What control he had over him. Maybe he'd thrive off of Lance's screams and tears.

Just then, Lance's phone vibrated. He took it out of his pocket, Shiro releasing his hold on him. When he looked down, he saw that he had a message from Hunk. Hunk and Pidge were at Pidge's place, where they were going to decide on which horror movie based on a "true story" to rip apart next. He could do that. With Pidge's help, he could watch movies like that without getting nightmares. 

"Alright, so....if you wanna go out, fine. I don't have an extra key, but you're a demon, so I assume you can just crawl underneath the door to get in. In the meantime, I'm going out-"

"Ooo, where you are you headed?" Shiro asked gleefully.

"Uh...nowhere special. Just hanging out with my friends-"

"Oh, Lance, I'd love to meet them."

"NO!" Lance made an "x" with his arms before swinging them apart. "Absolutely not! I don't have a cover story for you yet."

"Then you can think of it on the way to meet your friends."

"What? You think I can come up with something before seeing them?"

"You can if you stop by to get yourself something to eat," Shiro slapped Lance's butt. "I don't want you starving yourself."

Lance groaned, heading back to his room to retrieve his keys and wallet. 

"C'mon," Lance held the apartment door open. "Let's go."

"Aw, Lance, you're so chivalrous."

Lance pouted, hoping Shiro wouldn't distract him with his teasing to come up with an explanation for the demon's presence. 

 

The cars in the Holt driveway was empty, with an older truck sitting in front of the house. At the very least Pidge's parents weren't home, so he didn't have to introduce Shiro to them, too. He parked his car on the other side of the street, in front of a neighbor that didn't receive visitors and frequently left their house. As he and Shiro exited the car, he considered feigning sickness so that he would have to leave and go back home. But Shiro immediately grabbed for his hand. When Lance gave him a look, Shiro shrugged.

"Well, we have to convince them we're a couple, don't we?"

Lance sighed, letting Shiro hold his hand until they got to the door. 

"Okay, take a few steps back so that they don't immediately see you," he instructed. "I don't want you to jump on them out of nowhere."

"Then should I jump on you when you least expect it."

"Shiro, please."

"Alright," Shiro raised his hands up, "stepping back."

Lance took a deep breath before he knocked on the door. When the door opened, he was greeted by a small girl with short, spiky brown hair, wearing a black shirt and plaid, grey skirt with laced up boots. She pushed up her glasses as she looked to Lance. 

"Oh, hey, Lance," the girl greeted. "Late as usual."

"Ah, well, you know me. I'm fashionably late," Lance grinned as leaned against the door frame.

"Uh-huh. I hope you don't have that mentality when it comes to work."

"Pidge, do you really think I'm that irresponsible?"

She looked at him, expression unchanged. 

"Okay, so maybe we should-"

"Lance, there you are!"

A larger dark-skinned man with a rotund stomach raised his hand, coming up behind Pidge and setting his hand down on her shoulder.  

"I know you're late, but you can make that up by helping me make fries for us."

"Oh, right, well I ate already so...," Lance attempted to delay introducing Shiro to them as much as possible. 

"Seriously, Lance? And you didn't ask us what we wanted?" Pidge scoffed. "And here I am, offering my abode for your leisure."

"Eh-heh, yeah."

"Hi," Shiro's voice came up from behind him, making Lance scream and hit himself against the frame.

"You know, as much as I like to hear you scream, you're gonna have to stop doing that if you don't want to get hurt."

Hunk and Pidge looked on in confusion.

"Uh...Lance," Pidge pointed to Shiro, "who's that?"

"Oh, him," Lance gestured to Shiro. "This is Shiro and he's my, uh, boyfriend!"

"Your boyfriend?"

Lance nodded vehemently, picking up Shiro's hand. 

"Yup! My....long distance boyfriend. Yeah. I've been meaning to uh, introduce you guys for some time and he was in town so-"

"Lance, could you two step inside now?" Hunk asked.

"Sure thing, buddy. I can tell you all about him in minimal detail inside," Lance tugged for Shiro to follow him inside.

 

Once they were inside, Hunk and Pidge glanced at each other, crossing their arms.

"You summoned a demon, didn't you?" they said simultaneously.

Lance froze. 

"Wha? Me? Nooooo," he laughed. There was no response. "No, I, I couldn't. You know how, uh, sick I get with anything remotely creepy."

"You mean how scared you get?" Pidge clarified. "Yeah, we know. Which is why we can't believe you actually went through with it."

As Lance was about to say something back, Shiro butted in. 

"My, you two are awfully perceptive."

Shiro cracked his neck as his fangs and ears became elongated with antlers emerging from his head. Lance shuddered as he saw the scene unfold, but felt heat rise up from his body. 

"What are you doing?! Can't you erase their memories or something?!"

"There's no point," Shiro said nonchalantly. "If they know, they know. I'm more interested in how they handle that knowledge."

"We'd figure it out, no matter how many times you made us forget anyway," Hunk said. "Lance, how could you do this to us? You sold your soul to a demon and for what?"

"Well, he actually doesn't have my soul...."

"Then what does he have?" Pidge asked.

"Uh....we're bonded. For two hundred years."

"Excuse us?!" Pidge and Hunk shrieked.

"I presume you two are his caregivers," Shiro pondered.

"Close. We're his best friends," Pidge answered.

"Lance, I told you not to perform that ritual!" Hunk continued to scold. "I said it was a bad idea for you to summon a demon for views. But did you listen to me? No! You went and did it anyway!"

"Hey, at least now I can prove demons exist! And if I can't, I can at least be famous for filming something scary."

"You can't even watch a horror movie by yourself! How did you manage to complete this ritual on your own?!"

"You should be proud of how brave I was to do it by myself, no thanks to you!" 

Lance shoved Hunk.

"How can I be proud when you've given yourself up to this guy?!" Hunk gestured his head to Shiro. "No offence."

"None taken," Shiro shrugged.

"The point is," Pidge got in between the two, "you did something incredibly stupid and now you have to live with it. A ghost would have been fine, but you just had to go the extra mile."

Lance slumped his shoulders. "Look, guys, I," he shifted his gaze away from them for a moment before meeting them again. "I had to do this. I know this is a lot to take in, but please believe me when I say I wouldn't have done this if there was another way for me to make this a reality."

Hunk and Pidge sighed. Hunk placed a hand over Lance's shoulder.

"I can't say I'm happy about this. But we aren't gonna leave you hanging, either."

Lance smiled.

"Yeah, we might have failed at saving you from your own stupidity, but you're still our best friend," Pidge added.

"You guys are the best," Lance wiped a tear from his eye.

He didn't expect his friends to be so quickly forgiving.

 

What he should have expected was them to push him out of the way and start asking Shiro questions.

He watched in awe and annoyance as they bombarded the demon with their own questions. They questioned his age, if he can shape shift into anything, how much can he eat, if he had shadow puppets, was he naturally good at shadow puppetteering and other ridiculous inquiries. Shiro merely looked on in amusement even as Lance stepped in to stop them.

"Okay, that's enough," Lance stretched his arms forward in front of them. "He's my demon, so only I get to interview him."

"Aw, Lance," Shiro fluttered his eyebrows.

Lance pointed a finger at him. "No, you don't get to act innocent. Anyway, if you want me to ask him questions, then you should write them done and I'll see what I can include for future interviews."

"Fine," Pidge rolled her eyes. "I invite you to my house and you can't bring something in return. Typical."

"This isn't your house! You live with your parents! And you don't even pay rent!"

"I live here, don't I?"

"More like mooch here," Lance muttered under his breath.

"Looks like we'll have to cancel our movie plans," Hunk eyed Shiro. "Pidge and I not only have to come up with our questions, but fix the story you're gonna tell people to cover this up."

"What's wrong with my story?"

Hunk shrugged. "Well, it's not a bad start. But if you want people to believe that this guy is really your boyfriend, you're gonna need to make a convincing backstory." Hunk rubbed his chin as he circled around Shiro.

"Okay, you seem like nice people and all, but you're gonna have to stop staring at me," Shiro said.

"Hey, I'm just making sure you're not hiding anything."

Shiro side-eyed Hunk. "You want to see if I have a tail, don't you?"

Hunk looked away. "What? No........." He glanced back at Shiro, who kept up the serious expression. "Okay, yeah."

Shiro sighed, looking up as he his tail emerged from behind. Hunk and Pidge awed. Pidge was about to poke it, but her hand was smacked by Lance.

"Okay, that's enough. Also, do we really have to cancel our plans for this?"

"We can do it another day," Pidge assured. "This is more important. Which is why you need to leave."

"What?"

Shiro's demon features disappeared instantaneously, looking more human again.

"We'll work on your cover story for you," Hunk said. "But we need concentration to get any work done."

"But this is for me and Shiro. Shouldn't we get a say in this?"

"You would.....but you guys might end up fighting over which version makes one of you look the best."

"Oh, please. Lance will always look his best in my eyes," Shiro placed a hand over Lance's shoulder.

"You, stop!"

"We might have let you stay," Hunk continued. "But you didn't bring snacks for us-"

"You were already making fries!"

"Making Hunk to provide all the food?" Pidge shook her head. "For shame, Lance. Not even I expect him to feed me all the time. Unbelievable. I'll message you with the details, later."

Lance went along with what they wanted, taking Shiro with him out of the house. They crossed the street, getting into the car, with Lance driving them off.

 

"I am so sorry about my friends," Lance gripped his hands on the steering wheel. "I know they can be invasive, and pushy, and nerdy-"

"I like your friends. And I know you do, too."

Lance looked through rear-view window, noting how peaceful Shiro appeared. His eyes were back on the road.

"Yeah, I do."

He then felt a hand rub down his thigh.

"Of course, you like me in a different way." Shiro slid his hand over closer to Lance's crotch.

Lance nearly swerved the car, chills up his spine. He slammed on the brake as Shiro inched closer.

"Please don't do that while I'm driving."

Shiro removed his hand, moving it to the back of the human's neck. 

"My, do you get distracted this easily when driving?" Shiro brought his lips close to Lance's face. "I bet you get a thrill thinking about getting into a crash. How your life flashes before your eyes."

"Shiro, we can fuck when we get home. Please let me drive peacefully."

Shiro removed his touch from Lance, shrugging.

"Suit yourself."

Lance removed his foot from the brake, getting the car moving again. He was so glad there were no cars behind them, otherwise, it would have been a lot worse. Although, from his rear-view mirror, he spotted a girl with her hair parted in two, low hanging braids with a blueish tint near the bottom. She looked an awful lot like Plaxum, but he wanted to believe it wasn't her. He glanced at Shiro, who looked out the window bored. The idea of getting into a car crash wasn't exactly an ideal fantasy, but Lance had to admit he liked the thrill of Shiro putting his hands all over him. He sped up slightly to get home so that he can get to the fun part of their agreement.


	3. The (Fake) Innocent Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has to deal with the cover story for Shiro and the swarm of questions his coworkers have about the two.

Pidge sent Lance the document of the cover-up story the next day. As he scrolled through it on his phone, he silently groaned at how creative she and Hunk were with this lie. It was good, but definitely something only those two could come up with.

The backstory they decided to go with was that Lance and Shiro met through an online first-person shooter game. They were equally matched on the playing field, out to destroy each other. One match, they had their mics on and what started out as attempted trash-talking evolved into friendly conversation. The two decided to find each other on social media, where they continued their talks off the game. The background they gave Shiro was that he was from Japan and was fluent in both Japanese and English (although Shiro claimed to know all languages of the Earth). He had an expensive education and had a focus on public relations. While the two had listened to each other's voices before and seen each other through shared pics, they had yet to video chat. When the day came for them to talk to one another in front of their respective cameras, they realized they were in love. They worked around each other's schedules to keep the relationship going. The strength of their relationship was so amazing, they became the ultimate power-couple in the online game, tag-teaming and taking down foes. Shiro had already been planning to go to America for more opportunities, but had yet to decide where in the U.S. to move to. Lance made that choice easier.

Lance couldn't believe how corny they were. But it was kind of believable. Minus being a power-couple in a game. As for the explanation of Shiro's hair and face scar, they went with Shiro being born with poliosis and the scar coming from his troublemaker days. The backstory for that was that Shiro had been a delinquent for a short while as an act of rebellion against his parents. He got out of that phase when he entered a series of fights that resulted in the scar. He won. But he couldn't accept the benefits that came with the victory. He vowed to become a changed man from that day forward. 

Shiro laughed at his delinquent background and Lance couldn't blame him. They went all out with every detail of his background. He decided then he should get ready for work. 

 

Lance put on his suit and combed his hair back with gel. He didn't have the most glamorous job as a receptionist, but he was a man that dressed for the job he wanted. Well, okay, maybe not wanted, but he certainly needed to look the part of someone that earned big bucks. Shiro suddenly appeared behind him, making Lance jump.

"Please stop doing that," he pleaded as Shiro chuckled.

"Why? It's fun to see you react like that," Shiro nuzzled in the crook of Lance's neck. "Looking so nice and tender for me."

"I am getting ready for work," Lance took Shiro's arms off of him. "You need to stay here."

"How come?"

"Because I can't bring my boyfriend to work. Please don't destroy the apartment while I'm away."

"Fear not. I pride myself in my patience."

"I find that hard to believe."

Lance made sure he had everything before heading out. As he headed to the car, he looked over his shoulder to make sure Shiro didn't follow him out. As he approached his car, there were no signs of the demon and he drove off.

 

The day wasn't busy as usual. The only people that walked around the lobby were employees, most of whom had more exciting things to do. Or maybe more boring if they were accountants. Lance had his real work hidden behind another open window that allowed him to browse through a beauty website that was having a sale on moisturizers and face masks. He had been meaning to restock his cabinet, but summoning a demon makes you forget the little things that need to get done. He quickly hid the window when a long red-head member of the Coalition Science Society came walking by with a folder in hand.

"Hello," she waved at him.

"Oh, hey, Florona," Lance responded. "What's new?"

"Not much. Luxia wanted me to bring this to the front desk. Think you can file it away for her?"

"Yeah, sure," Lance took the folder from her hand, setting it next to the desktop. He was about to skim through the Excel sheets, but paused when he saw Florona was still there. "Something up?"

Florona tried to hide her smile, but failed to do so.

"Oh, nothing."

For as cute as she was, she was also really odd. Not the first of her strange behavior, but you knew it was trouble when she acted odd around you. Luckily, Plaxum came rushing down, nearly bumping into Florona as she smashed her hands on the counter.

"When were you going to tell us?!"

"What?" Lance looked at her in confusion. "Tell you what?"

"That you had a boyfriend. Did you really think you could keep it a secret from us?!"

How did they find out? Lance hadn't updated his relationship status anywhere and he certainly hadn't posted any pics with him and Shiro. 

"Uh, I don't know-"

"Don't lie!" Plaxum stopped him. "Swirn and I saw you the other day, driving away somewhere with a man in your car. A man we've never seen before. It was suspicious, so we got a hold of Hunk and he told us all about your boyfriend."

Of course word about Shiro would get around. He wasn't surprised that Plaxum of all people found out immediately. He was so glad he had read the backstory that was sent to him.

"Uh, yeah. You caught me. I have a boyfriend."

The women gasped. They leaned in closer, asking all sorts of questions. Normally Lance was alongside them with their questions whenever there was gossip in the building, but for once he was on the other side. Lucky for him, he was prepared for the barrage of questions. 

"We were long distance and it was super hard getting him here-"

"Is he going to live here?!" Florona asked.

"Uh...yeah. I've just been so busy getting him settled that I haven't had time to tell anyone the big news."

"Hm....," Plaxum stared at him suspiciously, "and when were you going to tell us about him?"

Right. He needed to come up with a reason for keeping this "relationship" a secret.

"Oh...uh....that's because....I didn't know how my family would react to me having a boyfriend on the other side of the world." He knew that wasn't really the case, but he needed to play off that fear. "Shiro and I agreed that we should keep our relationship on the down low until he was ready to come to America."

"Aw, that's so sweet," Florona cooed.

"Yeah, he is." Lance stopped himself. Why did he say that? He barely knew him. "I mean, he's not sweet. Not always. I was protecting you, actually, by not introducing you to him yet because he can be kind of a jerk."

"You fell for a jerk with a heart of gold?" Plaxum perked an eyebrow.

"Uh...yeah. I mean, it took a while for us to get along, considering we met over a game. I mean, he's not mean to me, but he has his own way of showing affection and I want him to learn how to be normal before meeting you guys."

Okay, so he wasn't talking the high heavens of Shiro, but Shiro was a jerk. Or at the very least a big tease. And he didn't need his demon making deals with anyone else, so in a way, it wasn't so bad that he described his boyfriend as a jerk.

Unfortunately, the girls didn't believe him when that jerk of a boyfriend came through the door, holding a cup of coffee and a small, brown bag in hand. Florona and Plaxum gasped at his appearance and Lance officially wished he wasn't there.

Shiro had an innocent smile plastered on his face, waving his hand up.

"Lance!"

What was with this puppy persona? He was completely different from before.

"Hey, Shiro...," Lance moved himself closer to his desk. "What, uh, brings you here?"

"Oh, I-"

"So you're Shiro," Plaxum pointed at him. "Lance was just telling us about you."

"Oh, you must be his coworkers, am I right?"

Plaxum nodded. "I'm Plaxum, and this is Florona. We work in different departments, but it's a slow day, so we can spend some time away from our labs and keep our receptionist company."

"Well that's very nice of you. You all seem like such hard working people, it's a shame that I don't see many people visiting this facility."

"Thank you," Florona beamed. 

Shiro certainly knew what to say to make anyone swoon. Lance had to remind himself that Shiro is not this nice. He couldn't be this nice. Not even as he dropped the cup and bag on the counter.

"I brought you something to keep you alert," Shiro told Lance. "It wasn't until after you left that I realized you didn't have a proper meal."

"Thanks," Lance picked up the cup and bag, setting it on his desk, but a safe distance away from the monitor. "You really didn't have to."

"Oh, but I must. Your health is one of my concerns. And don't worry, it's no trouble at all for me to drop this off to you. Now, I know you have to get back to work, so I'll leave you be. Just shoot me a text when you're out."

Okay, Shiro was officially being creepy. Lance didn't think normal romanticism would ever be creepy. Then again, he had every right to keep his guard up. For all he knew, Shiro was doing this to hide whatever true intentions he might have.

"Yeah, I sure will," Lance confirmed.

Shiro blew him a kiss and said goodbye to Lance's coworkers. Once he was out the door, Florona and Plaxum questioned if Lance was telling the truth about Shiro being a jerk.

"He seemed very nice," Florona commented.

"No, don't let him feel you!" Lance warned, but to no avail. Florona and Plaxum left him at the desk, talking loudly about how attractive Shiro was and how Lance most likely just wanted to keep such an ideal boyfriend to himself. Lance pouted, opening the bag to find a buttered croissant inside. He took a bit before sipping the coffee, which was a lot tastier than your typical store coffee. Before he finished his meal, his phone buzzed. There was a message from a number he didn't recognize. He took a sip of his coffee, unlocking his phone, and spitting out the drink with what he saw. It was a full view picture of Shiro, holding his dick in one hand and his tail touching his lips. There was a message underneath the pic.

_Don't waste time. The sooner you're done, the faster I can stick it in you._

There was never a moment where Lance found himself rushing to turn his phone off and get back to work, intent on questioning Shiro when he got back.

 

 

Lance entered the apartment to see Shiro sitting shirtless on the sofa, levitating small objects on the coffee table. 

"So much for you having patience," Lance set his stuff down on the kitchen counter. "And since when did you get a phone?"

"I can conjure up anything." A smartphone phased out of the demon's palm. "My power is near limitless. You'll see in time I can get just about any material thing I want. And I do have patience. But I also knew I had an excuse to see your pretty face," Shiro summoned a mist of miasma to grab Lance and bring him to the living room area. Lance's eyes widened as he was hovering above the demon, who licked his lips as he set a hand on Lance's cheek, dropping the phone he summoned. Lance felt a shiver down his spine, but noticed that the papers, pen and tweezers from earlier were still juggling. 

"How are you doing that?" Lance asked.

"Doing what?" Shiro removed his hand from the human. Lance tilted his head to what was being juggled. 

"How are you keeping your eyes on me, but also lifting that?"

Shiro set Lance down, moving his feet so that Lance could take a seat. 

"I don't see why you're interested in something as trivial as that. All demons can levitate multiple objects and people at once, even if it's not within our peripheral view."

Lance gave an 'oh' shape with his mouth, still impressed by the demon's abilities.

"Can I get the camera out?"

Shiro gave Lance a confused look, but nodded in affirmation. Lance went straight to his room, picking his camera up from his desk. He started it up and aimed it at the coffee table.

"Okay, put the stuff down and then pick it up again."

Shiro set the objects down. 

"Alright....and.....now," Lance ordered.

The objects were lifted up again, swirling in a circle.

"Nice," Lance commented. "Oh, maybe you can make a symbol with this."

"What symbol do you expect me to make?"

"Uh......how about a letter?"

Shiro created an "L" shape.

"Okay, I don't know if that's meant for me or for 'loser,' so choose another letter."

The objects went from an "L" to a "V."

"Ooo, V. Mysterious..." Lance zoomed out to give a better view of the letter. "Can you lift the table?"

"I could." The V separated, the papers, pen and tweezers being set down neatly. "But we need to spend more time together before I can show off more of my power to the camera."

"What?" Lance whined. "I think you owe me after you waltzed into my work."

Shiro's antlers popped out, standing up and lifting Lance's chin. 

"Hm....I don't see how you're owed anything more if I played the role of doting boyfriend perfectly," Shiro pecked Lance's lips. "I'll be in the bedroom, waiting all night for you to get out of your snazzy little suit."

Shiro removed himself from Lance, walking away. Lance looked down and saw the erection popping out of his pants. He sighed, turning off the camera before undressing himself. Shiro played with the unopened condoms, shuffling it between his fingers. He paused as Lance got in the room. 

"Uh...so," Lance rubbed his elbow, "I think you can just....we can do what we've always been doing."

The demon gave a nod, patting the bed. Lance opened up a drawer, tossing a bottle of lube to him. Although Shiro told him that condoms and lube were unnecessary for demons to use, he complied with using them to put Lance at ease. As turned on as Lance was by Shiro's demonic nature, a part of him wanted all of this to feel some semblance of normal. Lance got on his arms and legs, sucking in a breath with the lube that was being rubbed all over his ass. Shiro got a hold of Lance, thrusting his cock into him. Lance kept gasping for more, wanting the demon as much as the demon wanted him. Well, as much as the demon wanted his body. 

Lance came before Shiro. His dick blasted cum all over the sheets as Shiro continued pressing himself into him. After Shiro came, he snapped his fingers and the bed was clean.

"Heh, at least we don't need to worry about changing the sheets," Lance panted. 

"Just one of the perks of being a demon," Shiro grinned, lying down beside him. 

Lance forced himself to get up and out of the bed.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to wash my face before bed."

"Can you even make it to the bathroom?"

"Of course," Lance took a step, but his legs were shaking. He refused Shiro's offer to help, managing to enter the bathroom without falling down. Once he was done, he went back to the bed, to see that Shiro was already asleep. Lance picked up his phone, slipping his headphones into the jack, and started a playlist to lull him to sleep.


	4. A Demon Walks in on Bullying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance comes across familiar faces he hoped would have forgotten all about him.

Lance had no idea what Shiro did while he was away and he was too scared to ask. Not that there would be a point in knowing Shiro's schedule considering the demon did whatever he wanted anyway. It was honestly more surprising whenever Lance would come to an absent home, although it didn't happen very often. Lance would never admit this to Shiro, but he actually enjoyed living with someone again. 

He had been scrolling through his Instagram when he saw a post from Rachel, who posted a picture of Veronica reading at the family table, oblivious to having her photo taken. Or so it seemed. She was posed perfectly for the shot, she probably did know her picture was being taken. She was a natural like that. If he were there, he'd probably photobomb the shot, annoying Rachel, but getting a laugh out of Veronica and whoever else was there. He wondered if Marco and Luis were there, too. 

He got out of Instagram and switched over to Twitter. He looked through Veronica's account to see if maybe she posted anything about everyone being there. Well, mostly everybody. It had been a while since he last visited. She didn't tweet anything about a family get-together, but she did retweet a post about an upcoming horror film. He'd seen advertisements of it around and wasn't surprised that she was interested in watching it. Truth be told, watching the trailer for that movie sent a pit in his stomach. He was gonna wait until it was out on Blu-Ray to watch it with Hunk and/or Pidge. Although, if his sister invited him out, he'd sit through it with her. 

 

Shiro wasn't back yet. He took that opportunity to go down to the pharmacy for some lube and condoms (and maybe snacks and tea). He wouldn't need to take his car out, the pharmacy was only a few blocks down. He saw that movie from earlier advertised at a nearby bus stop. He sighed. He knew he was pretty weird when it came to creepy stuff. Horror movies, haunted houses, seances, they were honestly terrifying for him. Even jump scares made him cry. But he kept coming back to them. There was something intriguing about it all. There were mysteries to them that he needed to see solved. Of course, it was easy for people to exploit him.

Lance carried his bags out of the pharmacy. He dug up his phone from his pocket, putting his earphones on and scrolling through his playlist. Before he could choose a song to listen to on the way home, he felt a push against his back. He nearly tripped, his earphones popping out of his ears. A dreaded familiar voice called out to him from behind.

"If it ain't Pussy Boy Lance." 

He hadn't heard that nickname in a while. He faced his assailant, who, of course, was accompanied by other dreaded familiar faces. They were primarily a group of boys and a girl, most of them having tattoos on their arms or neck. Although some were shorter than him, nearly all of them were bulkier than him. 

"Uh...hey, guys," he said sheepishly. 

They all snickered at his response. One who was a foot shorter than he was pulled him down by the collar of his shirt and nearly choked him.

"What's a freak like you been up to these days?"

Lance felt a cold sweat down his neck. He looked around only to realize too late that when he was pulled down, he was dragged away from clear view of most people, having been taken to an alley.

"Guys, c'mon. Are we really still playing this childish games?"

"That didn't answer my fucking question," the main bully spit in his face. 

These guys had known him since middle school and always messed around with him. The bully didn't cease until they entered high school, disappearing from his life afterwards. He didn't miss them at all. 

"Still into that voodoo shit?" the girl of the group asked. "Or maybe you crawled into cemetery."

"I bet he thinks he's a ghost hunter with the other freaks he found."

Lance froze. Crap, had they been stalking him on his social media? Why did they choose now to apprehend him?

"We're not surprised about the goth girl, but the big guy is something else," another member of the group got in his face. "'Course, he's a loser, too, if he's your friend."

"What do you want?!" Lance screamed.

"Relax, buddy. We ain't here to haunt you. We just wanted to play around for old time's sake."

"Well, I don't want to play around. You better let me go or-"

"Or what? Are you gonna fight me? Do you have a gun on you or something?" The one holding him down shook his head. "We know you're a coward as always, Lancey. If you don't have the balls to step on the crack of a sidewalk, then you don't have the balls to hit back!"

With a shove, Lance trampled back. His grip on his bag loosened, causing his stuff to fall over. The group picked up the various items, laughing harder at the condoms and lube that spilled on the ground. He didn't listen in to their insults, their questions on who he could possibly be fucking and them giving incorrect guesses. He was ready to throw a punch, only to have his hand grabbed and pushed away, all of them mockingly ooing at him. He just wanted them to get bored and move on. His heart raced. He wanted to fight. But when he tried, they pushed him down. What had really changed? 

 

He blinked. But when his eyes came to, everything was black, except for his bullies. Judging by their confused looks, they were seeing the same thing he was. Footsteps were heard from behind. He felt a touch on his arm. The touch came from a muscular arm with sharpened black nails from his finger tips. He looked up to see Shiro, his antlers and pointed ears prominent. Shiro gently placed Lance behind him as he revealed his teeth.

The bullies raised their fists, a couple of them taking out pocket knives. One went straight in for an attack, sticking his blade deep in the demon's forearm. Shiro looked at it casually. He removed the knife from his flesh, putting the blade in his jaw, and chomping it into pieces. The bullies were speechless. Lance was shaking from the sight with them. Shiro let out a growl.

They all tried to flee, but their feet were stuck in place. A sticky substance overtook their legs. The ringleader had his head picked up by Shiro, who had a grin on his face.

"Aw, don't tell me you're scared," Shiro mockingly said. He brought the ringleader's face closer to his own, the ringleader yelling. "No one can hear you. It's just us in this void. You humans are so easy to hunt. Maybe I should keep you and your goons here and hunt you for all of eternity."

"N-n-no! LET US GO!" Snot came running down his nose. "We'll do anything!"

Shiro removed his hands from the bully's face, although the bully was still in mid-air, being held up by webs that stuck to his body.

"Anything, huh?" Shiro tilted his head. "If I ordered you to lick my feet, would you do it?"

"Y-yeah," the ringleader nodded vehemently. "I'll even kiss your hand."

Shiro breathed out of his nose, smoke coming out of his nostrils.

"What if I asked you to eat burning coal?" 

With a snap of his fingers, a cauldron full of flames appeared. The ringleader was clearly distressed, drool coming out the ends of his lips.

"What? Are you backing out now?" Shiro's grin turned into a disappointed frown. "How weak."

 

 

Lance blinked again, only to find themselves in the middle of a sidewalk. Everything went on as usual. Even the bag that had slipped from him was back in his grasp, everything he bought stacked neatly inside. Shiro looked human again and his bullies were shivering. He shot them an innocent smile.

"If you would be so kind as to never cross our paths again, I'd be eternally grateful."

They all nodded and ran away. The demon turned around, grabbing Lance's hand and holding it tight, guiding him back to the apartment. Lance tried to look over his shoulder, but was more focused on how close Shiro kept him. He didn't know how the demon knew what was going on. He wondered if the bond had anything to do with it.

By the time they reached the apartment, Lance bombarded him with question, tossing the bag across the floor.

"Where did you come from? Were you spying on me this whole time? Does the bond have something to do with it? Why'd you step in? If you were going to step in, why did you go all the way instead of doing some bare minimum? Was that the bare minimum for a demon? It probably was."

Shiro placed his hands on Lance's shoulders, sitting him down in a nearby chair.

"Alright, one at a time." 

Lance looked up at him suspiciously.

"I came back to find you absent. I assumed you went to run an errand or something. But when you didn't come back in the time I expected, I decided to go out and see if you were nearby, only to see those bastards giving you a hard time."

Lance averted his gaze. Shiro softened his expression.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't feel comfortable sharing," Shiro said, kneeling down in front of him. "But I'm willing to listen any time you want to talk about it. Okay?"

Lance looked back at him. Damn, Shiro was gorgeous. And pitying him.

"You never told me why you stepped in like that," Lance managed to say without breaking into tears. "I mean, I guess you're probably gonna say something like, 'Of course I'd step in. We're bonded, foolish boy.' Did I get that right?" 

The demon shook his head.

"Actually, I was going to say that you looked like you could use some help," Shiro looked at Lance with concern. "And when I stepped in, I...I wanted to be sure that you wouldn't get hurt. I may have gone a bit overboard, and I'm sorry if I scared you back there. But I didn't want them bothering you anymore."

Lance felt his heart pounding. He sat there in silence. Shiro had to be lying, right? But if he did want to tease Lance again, now would have been the perfect opportunity. He could have given him a smart aleck response, but instead went with a heartfelt one. What would he have gained from that.

Shiro mistook Lance's silence for concern over the bullies and added, "Don't worry. They'll remember what happened as a collective nightmare slash warning. They're not gonna tell anyone outside their gang and they should know better and leave you alone." He gave a slight chuckle. "It wasn't my full power, but I wouldn't consider it a bare minimum, either. Satisfied with those answers?"

Lance nodded. For now he was. Shiro got back up, helping Lance put the items away. When they were done, Shiro was taken by surprise as Lance went in for a kiss. Lance knew the demon was most likely toying with him. But at that moment, he just wanted more attention from him. And more attention he got as Shiro kissed him back, putting his hand in the back of Lance's head. 

 

Without another word, Lance took them to the bed. Rather than fucking that night, Lance was content to have them make out, their lips and tongues clashing against each other, and grinding into Shiro with his clothes on. Shiro ran his hands down Lance's back, giving him the attention Lance so desperately needed. By the time Lance grew drowsy, Shiro placed gently kisses on his face and stroked Lance's head until the human fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone. I know this chapter is a little later than usual. Some personal stuff came up and I was very busy tending to that. I don't make any promises on my posting schedule, but I do try to upload new chapters as soon as I can. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	5. Couples Trip (And Then Some)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance, Hunk and Pidge plan their next excursion to find something related to the supernatural.

Hunk and Pidge dropped by Lance's apartment to find the perfect destination to look for monsters. Pidge and Hunk sat next to each other on the floor, feet underneath the coffee table, while Lance sat on his sofa. Pidge laid out various pictures of sites for them to look into, ranging from abandoned hospitals to campsites with alleged sightings of Big Foot.

"I think we should avoid breaking and entering on any sites," Hunk tried to slip the cut-up picture of the defunct hospital to the side.

"C'mon, Hunk, it's not like anyone's going to be there. Besides, I was thinking more of something like this," Pidge lifted a magazine cover of an old laboratory. "I heard this place housed alien experiments. We could find traces of those aliens right here. Or at the very least I can see if there's any tech left over that I can fiddle around with. Maybe we'll find something like Frankenstein's monster!"

Her eyes gleamed and smile widened. Lance swore that if they didn't find anything, Pidge would be the next Dr. Frankenstein, although she'd resemble more of the mainstream portrayal than the actual book version. 

"What if we go to the creepy hotel down the freeway?" Lance tapped a finger on a printed out review of an old-fashioned style motel. "I heard there were ghosts roaming around there and everyone loves a good ghost story."

"First off, that's a motel, not a hotel. Second, you're just saying that because it has a pool," Hunk puffed. "And because you want a guaranteed power outlet."

"Hey, I'm just saying," Lance shrugged his shoulders. "I'd think you'd agree to it considering we wouldn't be breaking and entering into the lobby or our room."

Hunk looked up. "Hm...well, I guess you do-wait, why did you name those two specifically?"

"Because he's thinking we can sneak into any employee only areas to better our chances of contacting a ghost," Pidge leaned back, using her arms to support her on the floor.

"I bet we could sneak right in. We'd be like ninjas: NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW!"

Hunk and Pidge nearly fell over, covering their ears from how loud Lance was.

"Except someone will with your big mouth," Pidge slowly removed her hands from her ears. "Plus, we'd need to scrape money to stay here."

"You'd be wasting your money," Shiro walked out of the bedroom, arms folded on top of the sofa. "The chances of you finding a ghost there are slim."

"Look who decided to show up," Pidge commented. "Our friend's resident demon."

"How long have you been listening in on us?" Lance looked up to Shiro.

"Eh....kind of a while. You humans are too cute when it comes to finding things beyond your comprehension."

"Aw, thank you," Hunk put his hands on his cheeks. "Also, have you been to this hotel before?"

Shiro shook his head. "No, but I do know a thing or two about ghosts."

"So there are ghosts?" Pidge leaned on the table.

"Yes. But they are much more rare than you think. There's at least one in every country, though they are a scarce variety."

Pidge stared down at the pictures. "Hm.....then I guess we'll have to save ghost hunting for another time," she swished them off the table.

"Hey, don't leave a mess!" Lance complained.

"I'll pick it up. Later." Pidge arranged the pictures to show their new options. "I still have my eyes set on the lab."

"Again, I don't want to break and enter into anything," Hunk crossed his arms. 

"Is it really breaking and entering if no one's using it?" Lance asked.

"Yes!"

Pidge looked at Hunk in regret. She put a hand over his.

"Okay, we don't have to go there now if you don't want to."

Hunk sighed, letting her squeeze him.

"Thanks," he gave her a small smile. 

With that, Pidge brushed off anything that was considered abandoned, leaving only the campsite. The Olkari Forest, said to be one of the many forests where a plethora of monsters have been spotted at. It was quite popular with tourists and scammers alike. And while that might make finding a monster more difficult, at the very least there would be people nearby in case something were to go wrong. That and Lance could use this as a first step to building his reputation in the supernatural community. As much as he'd like to dump the videos of Shiro, he knows that it would be much more helpful if he started working on his fame from something like this. A good place to start.

"Looks like we're going camping!" Lance raised a finger in the air.

"Lance, do you even know the first about camping?" Hunk asked.

"I don't even know much about camping," Pidge added.

"Aw, c'mon guys. Would nature ever want to hurt this pretty face?" Lance winked, earning an annoyed groan from his friends.

"I never pegged you as the outdoors type," Shiro said.

"Mhmm," Lance smiled in confidence. "A little nature never hurt me."

"Lance, you kept hiding behind me when we went to desert last year because you thought you stepped on a bone when it was really a stick," Hunk pointed out.

"I thought a coyote was nearby and was gonna eat us!" 

Pidge opened her phone, marking something on her calendar. 

"Well, if we stay one night, I think that should be a sufficient amount of time for us to find out if there are real monsters in that forest. I say we go at the end of the month to better prepare ourselves."

"Sounds like a plan," Hunk nodded.

"Definitely," Lance took out his phone. "I am so gonna be famous for this!"

"I thought I was your ticket to fame," Shiro looked at him with sad eyes.

"You are. But this will just add to it. I'm gonna get spin-offs for sure!"

"Hey, Shiro, you should come with us," Pidge offered. "We could use your expertise to track down any potential creatures."

"Yeah, and you could keep us safe in case anything wants to eat us," Hunk added.

Shiro blinked. "You...want me to come?"

"Of course," Pidge confirmed. "We don't mind at all. And it's not fair that Hunk and I are the only couple that go on these excursions."

"You guys are handling this a lot better than you should," Lance commented. He looked back at Shiro. "But I don't mind you tagging along, either. If nothing else, I can at least film you over there."

Lance didn't say this aloud, but he thought he saw a blush creeping in on the demon's face.

"Uh, yeah. I'll go," Shiro said. 

"Great!" Hunk started picking up the fallen pictures. "It's settled then."

"Forest monsters here we come!" Pidge accidentally swiped everything back on the floor, Hunk and Lance giving her an annoyed look. "Heh...oops."

She helped Hunk pick up the remaining pictures. Shiro took a seat next to Lance, putting an arm around his shoulder. Lance couldn't help but notice how comfortable the demon looked. His antlers and pointed ears were out, looking on as if he were watching a show where nothing could go wrong. Maybe that's what all of this was to him. A show. Watching mortals go on about their daily lives. Except these mortals are somehow okay with the presence of a demon. Yeah, even Lance could admit his friends were weird. But he was weird, too. He's the whole reason there's a demon here. Lance let his head rest against Shiro's shoulder. At least it was a comfortable situation.

"Oh yeah, I'll need to message Keith the details, too," Hunk set the pictures down in the open bag Pidge held.

"What? A night with Keith? Do we have to?" Lance threw his head back.

"Quit being a drama queen," Pidge closed the bag up. "I thought you liked Keith."

"I do," Lance nearly pinched his forefinger and thumb, leaving a small gap between it, "but I can only take him in small doses. Unless I'm beating him in something. And a camping trip with him is just gonna spell disaster. He's probably gonna make us sleep outside of our tents!"

"Who's Keith?" Shiro asked.

"No one impor-"

"Another one of our friends," Pidge answered. "Lance is just mad because Keith told Lance he thought there was a sea monster in the sewers underneath the apartment, but it just turned out to be rats."

"I nearly shit myself and ruined my favorite running shoes because of him!"

"He was just as surprised as you were," Hunk said. "And he said he was sorry."

"Well he could have at least paid me back for those shoes," Lance pouted.

"Wait, you actually went into the sewers based on what someone heard?" Shiro muffled a chuckle.

"It's not funny, Shiro! I had to do extra skin regiments for three weeks until I was certain all those nasty bits were out of my body!"

"Anyway," Hunk typed on his phone, "I just messaged Keith and he should be getting back to me soon. Besides, you know Keith's the only one of us that has any woodsman experience, so we're gonna need him if we get lost in the forest."

Lance frowned further knowing Hunk made a good point. Shiro tried to pat his head.

"Don't patronize me," Lance looked away from everyone.

He heard Shiro chuckle again, but he didn't care at that point. Now he needed to come up with a way to get back at Keith for misleading him. 

The next thing he heard was a snap of fingers. On the coffee table was an assortment of snacks, mostly comprised of rice krispie treats and different cookies. Hunk went for a rice krispie treat while Pidge picked up a peanut butter cookie. Shiro merely gestured his head to the table for Lance. Lance sighed, picking up a rice krispie treat, too. 

"Thanks," he said as he chewed the cereal bar. Then he turned it over. "Holy crap, this is actually really good."

"Anything for the one who summoned me," Shiro gave him a wink.

"Well, now I know demons can conjure up tasty treats," Hunk said after he swallowed his snack.

"I guess this makes up for when you didn't bring us anything last time," Pidge grabbed another peanut butter cookie.

 

They spent the rest of their time talking about other mundane things such as Pidge's near completion of school and Hunk juggling between working at his dad's mechanic shop and starting up his own catering business, all the while Lance played music for them to listen to. They tried asking Shiro questions on the spot, but Lance insisted that he save demon-related questions for when he interviews him. Shiro did, however, show them a few tricks, such as shape shifting his arm into a snake and making them float in the air. At some point, Pidge laid her head down on Hunk's lap and fell asleep. Hunk took that as their cue to leave, gently waking her up and carrying her as they made their exit.

After Lance saw them out the door, he sat on the floor as Shiro took over the couch.

"Do you really like my friends?" he asked.

Shiro put his hands behind his head. 

"Of course I do. They're an interesting duo of individuals. It makes me curious as to how this Keith must be."

"Pfft, I think Keith's the least interesting compared to those two."

Shiro extended a hand to Lance's head, scratching the top. The feel of his claws against his hair and skin felt comforting.

"Hey, just so you know, I wasn't laughing at you when I heard about what happened between you two. I just think it's cute that you've always gone head first into things despite how scared it must make you."

Lance blushed. 

"Uh..yeah...," Lance looked down at his feet. "You only live once, right?"

"Mmm....I suppose," Shiro let his hand drop. "I've lived through many lives. Although I think this would make for quite the life."

Lance was about to say something back, but Shiro got on his feet.

"Well, I have some demon business I need to attend to. You can film me shape shifting when I get back."

"Oh, sure. Wait, what demons do business outside of their deals?"

Shiro chuckled again. "I'll tell you more about it at a future date. Okay?" He let his hand caress Lance's cheek. 

Lance closed his eyes at Shiro's touch, opening them when the contact was broken.

"Fine. But I'm holding you to it."

"Why of course."

And with that, Shiro left the room in a growing shield of shadows that encompassed him, disintegrating once he was out of sight. Lance had to give it to the demon, he had a way with words. 


	6. Interview with a Demon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance preps himself for interviewing Shiro. But an interview with a demon you're bonded to leads to something extra when the camera's turned off.

Lance went over the questions Pidge and Hunk sent him. Some were good, others were obviously not going to be asked (ones such as "is Lance your type?" or "have you thought about eating Lance?"). This was going to be the first of many interviews, and he had enough footage to prove that he wasn't talking to a mortal. Or at the very least the footage looked convincing enough so that any naysayers would still be impressed and applaud him for the work. They would be talking in the corner of the living room.

Lance set up the camcorder for his interview with Shiro, having it on a camera stand and turning it on. Shiro was amused by Lance's antics, although he couldn't help but ask why Lance needed the camcorder out. Lance answered that the best way to keep track of Shiro's answers were to keep them on film. Shiro shrugged, snapping his fingers to put himself in a suit. His antlers and tail stuck out, and he looked at himself in the mirror to make sure he looked professional.

Shiro sat down across from Lance.

"Oh, did you want me clouded in a dark mist or kept in the shadows?"

"Why wear the suit if no one's gonna see you?" 

"I like to be properly dressed for any occasion even if no one can see me." With a snap of his fingers, he made the room darker, covering himself in a dark mist and letting his eyes glow.

Lance  _really_ liked the effect. He'd have to snip that part of the recording up for himself later.

"So, Takashi Shirogane, if that's your real name, are you comfortable?"

"Yeah, I'd say so." 

"Good. Now, I'm going to ask you a series of questions and, as per our deal, you need to answer them as best and honestly as you can."

"Of course. I'd be a terrible provider if I didn't hold up my end of the bargain. And I must say, you really know how to take a good deal when you see one."

Lance would have to edit out that sentence later.  

"Okay, so, let's start off simple." He looked through the flashcards that he wrote the questions on. "How old are you?"

"Age isn't something we demons keep track of. But if I had to answer based on my earliest memories, I'd say about 5,000 years old." 

"Woah," Lance whistled. "Is that considered old by demon standards?"

"No," Shiro answered in a deadpan voice. "There are demons much older than I. But aging is a bit different for us."

"Please, elaborate," Lance turned his hand over. 

"Well, for one thing, demons don't start out as babies. We're more like a mesh if you will that quickly takes shape and form. However, demons can shape shift to take on many forms and many ages." He lifted the fog slightly, only for his chest to below to be present. His skin became wrinkled and feeble, with a weary voice coming out. "We can look old," he shrunk down, his skin becoming more youthful and softer and his voice becoming higher pitched, "or we can look young." He returned to his normal self."And that also includes animals and such."

"Alright, so you can make yourself look any way you want. I know you have other powers, too. Which begs the question: why do demons wanna make deals with humans? You have all this power at your disposal, yet you guys are known for allowing yourselves to serve humans." Lance perked up. "Like a genie!"

It wasn't obvious with the mist, but anyone could feel Shiro rolling his eyes at that connection.

"First, demons are  _not_  genies," the demon emphasized. "Second, it's humans who seek us out, but I understand what you're trying to get at. While demons are powerful, we still need human sustenance to keep up with our power and keep ourselves under control. Without you guys, we'd practically be raving beasts released upon the world. You'd be surprised as to how much energy one soul has. What many don't know is that souls aren't the only form of payment. We also accept a human's life force and, if we're willing, we can even keep a human alive for as long as we need provided that they dedicate themselves to us."

"I see. How many humans have you made deals with?"

"Do you keep track of how many meals you've had? Or how many times you've bathed?"

Lance tapped a flashcard against his chin. "So that's how deals are like for you. Alright, then is it possible to have more than one deal happening at a time? Like, you and I currently have a deal, but if another human were to summon you and make a deal with you, could you accept? Do demons have answering machines if they're not available to humans that do the summoning rituals right?" 

"Normally no, but if the human's request is quick and easy to perform, then something can be arranged. As for summoning rituals, there are enough demons to answer any human's call. Humans typically have the same basic requests that practically any demon can perform. There's no specific ritual for one demon, especially considering the requests we receive. If a human wanted to summon a specific demon, they can just ask the demon that ended up showing up, although there is a fee that will cost you at least one year of your life. Generally speaking, demons hate to have their time wasted."

"But you guys live for so long. What's a couple of minutes for centuries, even eons of your lifetimes? What do you guys even do outside of deals?"

"We have lives that don't revolve around humans, you know? While time is different for us, we also enjoy to spend our own time in our own realm. It isn't uncommon for a demon to refuse to take deals for a century or two so long as they're well nourished."

"I didn't know you guys liked to spend time away from Earth."

"Mmm, that one depends on the demon you ask." 

"Alright. Hm....there's so much more I want to ask you, but you probably won't answer until we spend more time together. So, I'll finish the interview with this," Lance set the flashcards on his lap, "have you ever had a significant other before?"

"Yeah, you'll need to keep working if you want to ask me more questions-wait, what?" Shiro raised an eyebrow.

"A significant other. You know, like a lover or a-"

"I know what you meant!"

Shiro darkened the mist around his face. He was not about to let this human see him blushing, let alone have it on tape. He knew Lance was a curious individual, but he was hoping he would have waited a little while longer before asking that question. It had been some time since Shiro last thought about him. The one who broke his heart. His dear Adam.  

".....Yes." His voice was soft and low when he answered. 

"Oho," Lance leaned forward, "and what can you tell me about this person. Man, woman, human, demon? Angel?"

Shiro would have spit out water had he been drinking any at that moment. "Pfft, he was certainly no angel, I can tell you that much," he laughed. He played it cool, leaning back.

"You're no fun." Lance sighed."But fine. I guess we can end the interview here."

Lance got up and turned off the camcorder. Shiro dissolved the mist, but was still in his suit. 

"I didn't think you'd want to learn about my love life." 

"Huh? Oh, that. I didn't come up with that question," Lance lied, knowing full well that it was a certified Lance original question. "I just had some outside help is all. Wanted to get all the questions a person would want to ask a demon, y'know?"

Shiro got out of the chair and pressed his body against Lance to the wall.

"And someone would ask a demon if he's ever been in love?" he whispered.

Lance felt a pit in his stomach. Shiro's hands were pressed down on his waist and stomach. Lance laid his hands over the larger ones.

"Have you read teen monster novels? I'm sure at least someone would ask a demon that. Humans are already interested in each other's love lives."

Shiro pressed his nails down on Lance, nuzzling their heads close. "Mmm, and would you tell me your love life? All about you previous loves before me." Shiro slunk his tail around Lance's ankle. "Mmm, but I guess I'd really only need to know for protection's sake. I'd rather be the only one on your mind and the only one in your heart." Shiro kissed the side of Lance's head. "And at this moment, I want to be the only one inside you." 

Lance's heart pounded. If he was gonna earn himself more questions, he may as well start now. Although, seeing Shiro in that suit reminded Lance that he wanted to try something new with their sex life. Don't get him wrong, Shiro was a fantastic lover. But admittedly, their sex was rather vanilla, which was kind of a let down considering Shiro's status as a demon. 

As Shiro was about to let go to unzip his pants, Lance stopped him.

"Wait." 

Shiro looked at the human. "Hm?"

Lance brushed his fingers across Shiro's knuckles. "Um.....could you....maybe use me as a footstool first?

Lance shook his head. "I'm sorry. You can keep going."

He looked down and away from the demon. Shiro grinned, raising a hand over Lance's neck.

"Oh no. I understood. You thought you had power over me, didn't you?" He tapped a long claw across the human's chin. "Sneaky little runt, asking me all kinds of personal questions for your own gain. I guess I need to remind you which of one of us has the real power."

 

Before he continued, he let go of Lance, giving them some distance.

"If you want to move forward with this, you'll need a safeword."

Lance's face flushed. "Oh, uh, is that really necessary? I mean, isn't the whole point of this for you to have control over me?"

"I'm not going to do anything to you unless you let me know what your limits are," Shiro said with a serious expression. "I don't want you to go through something you don't have to."

Lance thought about what to use. He'd never really done this before, so he didn't know what to suggest. He figured it would have to be something that would kill the mood. That would make Shiro lose all interest in fucking him. Seeing as how he was in relations with a demon, a few words came to mind.

"I know. We could make God our safe word."

Shiro frowned, crossing his arms. 

"....No."

"What? Okay, then how about Jesus!"

Shiro continued to stare down at him.

"Heaven?"

The silence lingered.

"Uh....Holy Spirit?"

"Lance, we are not making those our safe words," Shiro said. "I may be a demon, but I realize God and Jesus are typically things said during sex."

"Jesus Christ-"

"No." He raised a finger, moving it slightly. "Please, come up with something that doesn't make me want to drag you to the demon realm."

Lance pondered for a bit. He was certain the demon would have agreed to one of those suggestions. And they were good suggestions, too! Regardless, it was clear religious vocabulary was off the table for safe words. 

"Alright, then how about sky?" Lance shrugged.

"Sky?" Shiro looked at him in confusion.

"You know. Like, sky's the limit?" Lance laughed nervously. Shiro sighed.

"Fine. As unconventional as it is, sky it will be."

 

Shiro grew in size and kicked off his shoes. He tugged Lance along, putting him down on the floor and kicked back on the sofa. Lance could feel the weight of Shiro's feet on his back. Shiro would twist his heel on Lance, pressing down on him.

Shiro moved one foot over to Lance's head, making him headbutt the floor. He laughed when Lance said "ouch." Lance's cock was getting hard with this humiliation. He practically panted at how hard Shiro pressed on him. But what was strange was when Lance felt something odd with Shiro's foot. He decided to glance up, only to see that Shiro's feet were turning into hooves. He let out a yelp, making Shiro use his hoof to lift Lance's head up.

"What kind of footstool are you?"

Lance was shivering.

"How long have you had those?" He stared at the hoof and fur that was against him. 

"We were done with questions, remember? Tch, you can't stay quiet for one second can you?"

Shiro let his hoof drop and picked Lance up. He carried Lance to the bedroom, clomps echoing along the floor, slamming the door behind him. Lance's cock twitched at that and he could already feel the precum leaking. 

Shiro's antlers seemed to have grown bigger from Lance's perspective. Shiro got on top of Lance, holding his cheeks together in one hand. "I'm in the mood for your ass. You're not allowed to cum until I'm through. Got it?"

Lance nodded. Shiro let go, but his tail wrapped itself around Lance's mouth. He pulled down Lance's pants, staring at Lance's already risen and leaking cock. Shiro snapped his fingers to summon a rag. 

 

Lance grabbed the cloth and wiped away his precum. When he was done, Shiro unwrapped his tail and shoved the cloth in Lance's mouth. "Only take it out if you want me to stop."

Shiro went down on Lance and ate him out. He scratched Lance's skin with his long nailed claws. Lance's body shook with pleasure. He could have had a heart attack and Lance wouldn't have wanted Shiro to stop. He felt a long tongue twist around his bum, making him moan. He concentrated so hard on not cumming right then and there.  

 

When Shiro was done eating Lance out, he took his pants off, where the fur really did cover his legs all the way to his crotch area, and grabbed a bottle of lube. Lance eagerly awaited for Shiro to spread it on him, but instead, Shiro spread it all over his own hole. Shiro straddled himself on Lance's hips. 

"Fill me up here, and I'll fill you down there." He caressed Lance's cheek. "If you don't put enough, I'm gonna make you sleep on the floor and I won't screw you for the next 24 hours." 

Shiro allowed his body to grow bigger, making himself heavier on Lance and making more space for Lance to fill him up in. It was much more challenging, but Lance focused on the task at hand. Shiro went up and down for him, Lance trying to keep Shiro close. His hands brushed against the fur of his legs, which were still bulky and muscular. He wanted Shiro's cock inside him so badly. He thought about everything Shiro did that turned him on. How scary Shiro looked. How threatening he came across. How hot Shiro was in just about any form. At last, Lance let it all out. 

Shiro looked down, removing himself from Lance. He didn't give away what he was thinking as he inspected his bum. Lance breathed out in anticipation. He needed Shiro to fill him up next. He needed it so badly. Shiro looked back at Lance. He removed the cloth. 

"Acceptable."

Lance smiled, panting in relief. Drool came running down his mouth, which Shiro flicked off. 

"Need me to shrink down?" 

"No!"

Shiro gave Lance a bemusing look.

"I'll be fine. I promise.”

"We'll see about that." 

Shiro spread the lube all over Lance's ass. He put a hand on the human's neck and went in. His other hand was on Lance's chest, giving his nipples a slight squeeze. Lance begged for more. For Shiro to go faster. Shiro ordered Lance to scream. To scream as if his life depended on it. To scream as if he just saw the demon pop out from his shadow. As if he just woke up from his worst nightmare. He surrounded them in a barrier of darkness, enticing Lance to feel more scared and aroused. 

And scream Lance did. With Lance's screams echoing, Shiro came inside of him. There was so much that it all came bursting out. Lance ended up cumming again as well.

 

 

When they were both done, Shiro dropped down on the bed. He turned over to look at Lance, placing a hand over Lance's face.

"What a good boy you are," Shiro complimented. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to ask for kinky sex."  

Lance blushed. "You knew?"  

"Lance, you know I can see your erection whenever I do something even slightly intimidating." 

"Oh, right."

With a snap of his fingers, the whole bed was cleaned up. Shiro dragged Lance closer to him, placing the human on his chest.

"You can always ask for stuff like this. We are bonded after all. Might as well have fun with it." 

"But I ask so much from you already. I didn't...I didn't want to push my boundaries." 

Shiro stroked Lance's back. "As long as I get a piece of you, I don't care how I get it."

Lance still felt nervous, but allowed himself a smile as he sunk into the demon's chest. He fell asleep easily as the demon continued to stroke him, from his back to his butt. Lance appreciated how warm Shiro made him feel.

"I hope the neighbors don't complain about how loud we were."

"We?" Shiro looked down at Lance.

"How loud I was."

Shiro ruffled his head. "Do not worry. The barrier I surrounded us in is sound-proof. They didn't hear a thing."

"Oh, that's good."

Lance snuggled against the demon. He didn't know if this was part of the contract, but Shiro definitely knew how to keep him happy. This was a weird form of customer service.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I'm still trying to get my foot in when it comes to smut? Feedback for this chapter would be greatly appreciated.


	7. Acting Natural Doesn't Always Payoff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance gets a video call from Veronica about an upcoming cookout, only to end up meeting the demon on his bed.

For as much care as Shiro gave Lance, it didn't take the throbbing pain away entirely. Lance was lucky that he didn't have work that day, fully intent on spending the day in bed and perhaps using his client privileges to his advantage to order treatments to be given to him. That was the plan, until his phone went off. Lance picked up the phone to see that it was Veronica who was setting up a video chat. He quickly grabbed the nearest undershirt on the floor, threw it on, and took the call.

"Hey, bro," Veronica waved at him.

"Mornin, sis," Lance replied back.

"Morning? It's nearly 11."

"Yeah, well, it's still morning, isn't it?"

His sister rolled her eyes. 

"I mean, technically you're right."

Lance hummed in agreement, annoying his older sister further.

"Anyway, I wanted to call because Luis is having a cookout at his place next weekend. Wanted to know if you'd be able to come."

"Uh...let me check really quick," Lance minimized his sister's image, putting her in the corner while he took a look at his calendar. The Coalition scheduled him for this weekend, but they freed him up for the following one, so he informed his sister of so. 

"Great. It's gonna be next Saturday."

"Will do, Sis!"

"Lance, who are you talking to?" Shiro lifted his head up, arm around Lance's waist.

Lance's heart stopped. He pushed Shiro's head down and moved his phone to an angle where the demon wouldn't be visible. He hadn't gotten around to telling his family about his boyfriend, having yet to post anything about it on any of his social media. Which was a wonder considering Florona and Plaxum found out and didn't make a call out post about him. He hoped Veronica didn't see or hear him. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

"Who was that?" Veronica adjusted her glasses.

"Uh....that was...uh.....," his siblings were the worst when it came to coming clean about significant others. Sure, he was part of the problem considering he was part of the questioning and talk when Luis introduced Lisa to all of them, the situation only getting worse when he announced their engagement. But now he had to hope that she wasn't going to spill the beans about this to everyone else in the family.

"That...was.....myboyfriend," Lance mumbled quickly.

"Your what?"

"Uh...mybofriend," he mumbled again.

"Lance, I know it's not the reception that's screwing this over. Speak clearly. Now."

Lance sighed. "That was....my boyfriend." 

He shut his eyes immediately. When he peeked an eye open, he was met with a surprised stare from her. She had her mouth open, eyes gazing downward before she could speak to him again.

"And how long have you two been dating?"

Lance wanted to be honest and say that it hadn't been that long since he met Shiro. However, he needed to keep up the charade of having known Shiro for longer, especially considering how dead he would be if his family found out that he summoned a demon.

"A year?" Lance shrugged.

Veronica closed her mouth, sucking her lips in and nodding. 

"I'm sorry. I was gonna tell you, I swear-"

"Stop."

Lance gulped.

"Bring him to the cookout."

"Veronica-"

"Bring him."

Lance huffed. "Fine. I mean, I can't make any promises cuz he obviously has a life outside of me-"

"I can come," Shiro's voice rang out from underneath the sheets. 

Lance tried to shush him, but his skin was playfully slapped back. 

"We'll talk more about it when you get here. I need to head out now, but we're not done talking about this."

"Yeah, yeah." He pouted.

"Hey, bro."

He looked at her.

"I'm not mad."

"Really?"

She gave a nod. "At least, I'm not mad yet. I know you've been caught up in a lot of stuff. I get it. But I am going to find out how you of all people managed to not say anything about this for a whole year. Like, I need to know when you got good at keeping secrets."

"Hey, I am good at keeping secrets!"

Veronica raised an eyebrow. "Need I remind you of what happened at Marco's surprise party last year?"

"Hey, you know Marco is a master at interrogation."

"You were talking about some action movie that was coming out and let it slip."

Before Lance could defend himself further, Veronica wrapped up the conversation. 

"Anyway, just talk to me when you get here. And if you plan on making up lies, at least try to keep it realistic."

"Fine," Lance groaned. "Talk to you later."

"Same, bro."

With that, the two hung up. He hoped that lying about the relationship starting out online would be enough to quell his family and not disappoint them entirely for not letting them know sooner. He put his phone down and looked up at the ceiling before being dragged down by the demon. Shiro wrapped his arms and furry legs around him.

"So, I get to meet your family."

"Yeah," Lance confirmed.

"Do I need to be concerned if any of them are demon hunters?" Shiro trailed his nails across Lance's arm.

"Um, not that I'm aware of. Vero is a fan of horror, though, so try not to raise her suspicions."

"Mhmm," Shiro hugged Lance tighter. He bent his legs and Lance felt the hooves against him.

"So...hooves?" Lance questioned.

"Yup. They're a part of me. Just haven't shown them off until now."

"Is there more to you that I haven't seen?"

Shiro moved his hand to Lance's head. 

"Yes."

Lance wanted to ask more, but he felt himself falling back to sleep. He fell back asleep in Shiro's embrace.

* * *

It was past noon when he woke up again, no thanks to the demon ordering him awake. Shiro insisted that he get up and get something to eat, snapping his fingers to summon platters of food for Lance's choosing. One half of the table had pancakes, waffles, bacon, and eggs while the other side had burgers, salad, fries, sushi, and burritos if he was craving more of a lunch meal. Lance opted on the breakfast portion, with Shiro making the lunch side disappear. 

He sat down to take in the waffles while Shiro helped himself to a cup of coffee. He chewed pretty slowly, poking the remainder of the waffles with a fork. There were a few topics for them to discuss, whether it be his family, parts of Shiro he has yet to see. Their newfound BDSM relationship.

Lance nearly choked on his food at the thought, grabbing a cup of milk to chug it down. Shiro set his cup down.

"Is something wrong? You're being quiet which is unusual for you."

After Lance was done chugging, he wiped his mouth, delaying having to speak.

"Oh, I'm just tired still. Can't talk when I'm barely waking up," he halfheartedly laughed.

"Are you sure?"

"Mhmm," Lance stuffed his face with another bite of waffles. "Totally," he spit out.

Shiro dropped a napkin in front of the mortal.

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

Lance merely shrugged, hoping Shiro would have gone off to do something else. Instead, he decided to bring one of the topics to light.

"You're nervous about your family, right?"

Oh thank God it wasn't their kinky sex from last night.

Lance swallowed and nodded in agreement. At least he was right about that. 

"I almost never keep secrets from them. But I know I can't just say you're a real demon that I made a deal with. They'd kill me. And maybe you."

"I thought you said they weren't demon hunters."

"They're not. They'd still kill you though if they ever found out what our relationship is based on."

Shiro gave a small smile. "Sounds like they really care about you if they'd do that."

"Of course they do," Lance set his fork down. "My mom always gets me garlic knots when I'm down, Luis showed me how to play some of the greatest games in gaming history, I can kick back with Marco, Rachel and I take the best selfies together," he trailed off, recalling how cool each of his siblings were.

"And Veronica?"

"Oh, Veronica? She's kind of strict and stuff, but she's cool, too," Lance leaned back in his chair. "I used to watch horror movies with her all the time. Still do from time to time." Lance folded his arms on the table. "She taught me that there's nothing to be scared of. And even though I would get goosebumps watching that stuff, I saw how happy it made her. Now I don't get any goosebumps to anything 'scary,'" Lance hit his chest with a fist.

Shiro gave him a bemusing look. Lance felt a tap on his shoulder and when he looked to see what it was, he screamed and fell over at the sight of Shiro's tail.

"How long is that thing?!"

"As long as I want it to be," Shiro retracted the tail, making it smaller and not so close to Lance anymore.

"Okay, so I still get scared," Lance shrugged. "But she makes it easier to not get scared." He finished the last of the remaining waffles. "I haven't even told you about my grandparents or my sobrinos, but if you can look human around them, then I know they'll like you. Although they might think you're too good for me."

"That doesn't sound very nice of them to think that."

"Oh, we all think anyone that marries a Mendez is too good for us. We made sure Lisa knew that before she married Luis."

Shiro gave Lance an odd look. "But...we're not married."

Lance froze. "Uh...n-no, we're not," he straightened his voice, "but, you know, I meant anyone that's in a relationship with me-us-in general." 

His face was flushing. "Uh...I gotta brush my teeth!"

Before he could make it to the bathroom, he felt a couple of strong arms wrap up from behind him.

"You know, Lance, if you ever wanted to get married, I could have that arranged," he pressed his head closer the human's. 

Lance gulped. He lifted Shiro's arms off of him.

"Right....let's.....get back to that when we've been together longer."

"Whatever you say."

Lance stormed into the bathroom and spent more time than usual brushing his teeth. He barely knew this demon and yet he was falling for him hard. Then again, how could he not expect a demon to sweep him off his feet? After all, they need to be professionals if they can get souls or a life force or whatever it is they need from humans. He just had to remind himself that he can't get heartbroken once the deal runs out. He got to exfoliating his skin, also realizing that he would need to teach Shiro how to play that first-person shooter game they talked about.

 

 

Lance hoped they would spend the rest of the day playing video games, but Shiro insisted on going out to the mall to buy a gift for Lance's mother. Personally, Lance thought it was ridiculous considering they were going to bring something for the cookout anyway, but Shiro insisted that they go. Shiro picked out a lovely looking hairpin that resembled an orchid and the two stepped out of the store.

"You know, if you can make stuff appear out of thin air, why didn't you just summon a gift for her?"

"Lance, I would never give your mother something that requires me to use the powers of Hell," Shiro over-dramatically pressed his fingers against his chest. "I am an honest man."

"Uh-huh, sure you are." Lance paused. "Wait....OH MY GOD, PLEASE DON'T TELL ME THE FOOD YOU'VE BEEN SERVING IS MADE OF MAGGOTS OR SOMETHING!"

Shiro crossed his arms. "I used my power to summon that food, not actually make it. And no, the food isn't infected."

"Oh. Good," Lance walked ahead of Shiro, leaving the demon to shake his head.

However, before they could make it to the parking lot, Lance swore he saw someone running towards him. Someone with stupid looking messy hair and a red jacket. Much to Lance's distraught, he knew exactly who it was that was rushing towards them. A certain someone that misled him to go in the sewers.

Keith made a halt, pointing a finger at Shiro.

"I know what you are!" Keith screamed, pointing a finger in their direction. 

Lance sighed. "I'll take care of this," he told Shiro before turning his attention to Keith. "Keith, buddy, I don't know what you're on but-"

"Not now, Lance!" Keith got closer to them. "I know you summoned a demon!"


	8. Explaining When Denial Won't Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Keith piecing together what Shiro is, it's up to Lance to set his mind at ease.

Lance couldn't believe what Keith had just said out loud. Keith was staring at them, eyes furrowed and chest heaving. He was serious. And nothing they could say would convince him that there was nothing going on. He couldn't read Shiro, who was looking rather calm about the whole spiel. The good news was that there wasn't much foot traffic at the moment. However, what few people that were nearby had given the trio confusing looks, even as they pretended to be on their phones or rush to the parking lot. 

"Keith," Lance took a slow step forward, "I know you want answers. And you'll get your answers. But not here. Out in the open."

He shifted his eyes to the surrounding area. Shiro finally read the air and decided now was a good time to feign shock at Keith's words. Keith gave a deep breath out, almost pouting as if he didn't want to admit that Lance had a point.

"Where did you have in mind?" Keith asked.

 

 

The three were at a diner in the parking lot of the mall. They sat at a booth near the back of the restaurant, away from the patrons and their families that were seated closer up front. Keith could only give Lance an annoyed look as he tapped his fingers on the table.

"Yeah, you call _this_ not in the open?" 

Lance shrugged, slurping on his soda. "Hey, at least this'll prevent you from making a scene. Again."

Keith sat back, arms crossed. He continued to stare at them, Shiro leaning in to Lance's ear.

"Is this what he usually does?"

"You have no idea."

Lance moved his soda away. 

"Okay, fine, I'll answer your questions. But first, how did you find out?" Lance leaned himself against the table, pointing at Keith who merely looked at him with a disgruntled look. Shiro pulled him back to the seat.

"Hunk and Pidge were telling me about you bringing a boyfriend," Keith picked up the wrapping from a straw, tying it around his forefinger. "And while I normally don't care about your relationships, I did find it kind of weird that you apparently had a secret boyfriend."

"How is having a secret boyfriend weird?" 

"From you, you can't keep a secret," Keith tugged at the wrap. "Especially when it comes to your love life."

Lance harumphed, bringing his soda back to him and drinking.

"Anyway, they were sending me some pics from your place the other day and I noticed something on that practically empty bookshelf of yours in the living room." Keith glanced to the side where servers walked by. Seeing that the walkway was empty, he continued. "A chant of some sort. I couldn't make out everything on it, but the title of whatever it was remained. After more digging, I found out it was a summoning chant. For a demon."

"What else would a summoning chat be for?" Shiro asked, stirring the spoon in his cup of tea. Lance kicked his ankle, a warning to not make things worse.

"It was pretty obvious from that point what you did."

Damn Keith and his detective skills. 

"Alright, so what do you want?" Lance asked.

Keith took a look at Shiro and then back at Lance. 

"I need to know that you didn't just unleash an unspeakable evil on the world. One that would cause the end of humanity."

"Jeez, kid, he summoned a demon, not Lucifer," Shiro sipped his tea. "He didn't even use blood to summon me."

"That doesn't change that you're possibly evil!" Keith smacked his hands on the table. "You can't expect me to be happy that you're using my friend to come to Earth."

"I don't need this handsome treat to be here," Shiro put an arm around Lance, making him turn red. 

"Shiro," he hissed, "he's serious!"

"Besides, as long as I'm under contract with him, I can't exactly destroy all there is to this world that you hold dear to your heart, even if I wanted to." He gave Lance a squeeze, ignoring Lance's warning.

"Lance is in charge of you," Keith reiterated, running fingers through his hair. "The world's gonna end sooner than I thought." 

Lance squinted at Keith as Shiro muffled a laugh. Lance took Shiro's arm off of him.

"The world is not going to end," Lance retorted. "Not because of me anyway. Look, I promise you, I didn't summon Shiro to destroy us or anything like that. With me as his client, he won't start sucking souls or anything."

"He already has your soul, Lance," Keith pressed his thumb down on his finger. "That's not exactly a good sign."

"Oh, I don't have his soul," Shiro opened up the dessert menu. "He's only bounded to me for two hundred years."

Keith's mouth was agape. He blinked slowly. "You....don't have his soul?"

"Afraid I don't," Shiro skimmed through the menu. "But him being bound to me is just as sufficient."

"What kind of demon are you?"

"A demon worth making deals with." He nudged Lance's shoulder. "Can we order this?"

The demon pointed to a chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. Lance didn't peg him for a sweet tooth, but caught the waiter's attention to order the dessert for the table. At the very least it seemed Keith was appeased by these answers. For now.

 

When they left the diner, Keith stayed behind them, his eyes focused on Shiro's legs. Lance and Shiro were linked, although Shiro could feel Keith's stare. He let his arms drop as he gave a heavy sigh.

"Yes, I have a tail," he answered Keith's unanswered question. "No, I am not showing you right now."

Keith stopped in his tracks.

"Find. Can I at least talk to Lance alone?"

Lance groaned.

"Oh, what more do you want to know?"

"Sure, I'll give you two some space," Shiro walked ahead of Lance.

"Hey, get back here!" 

"Start making amends with your friends, Lance," Shiro called out as he hurried to the car.

Lance crossed his arms, muttering under his breath at how unfair _his_ demon was being. Keith had the nerve to approach him as if he didn't mislead Lance and ruin his favorite shoes. But he supposed it was best just to get it over with.

"You can make a payment plan for the shoes," Lance jumped right in.

"I already apologized, Lance," Keith responded. "And I'm not responsible for you wearing those shoes to the sewers."

Lance humphed again.

"But...I do want you to know that...," Keith scratched the back of his head. "Uh....look, I'm not the best at...words," he winced, "but...no matter our differences, you can, you know, talk to me and stuff."

Lance was taken aback. He hadn't seen Keith so sentimental before. So...caring. It was almost scary to Lance, but it was also refreshing. Even if it did come out of nowhere.

"Uh...yeah," Lance tried to find out the best way to respond to his friend pouring his heart out. "I appreciate it, buddy."

"So, we cool?" 

"Yeah. We're cool. I guess." Lance was still curious as to what made Keith act this way. "What brought this on?"

"Well, I don't want to pry, but I figured you must be going through some serious shit right now. Something that pushed you to summon a demon. I mean I'm glad you didn't have to give up your soul, but you were obviously willing to, so if you ever wanna talk-"

"Yeah, yeah," Lance couldn't look him in the eye. "That's great, Keith. I, uh...should go..." Lance turned around, wanting to avoid more of Keith's assumptions.

"Lance, wait!" Keith reached out. "Did I overstep my bounds?"

"No, no," Lance waved off, "I'm just...glad you're concerned about me. And glad that you're not asking me why I summoned Shiro....."

"Lance," Keith moved in front of him, "why did you summon Shiro?"

Lance sucked his lips in, nodding along to nothing. 

"I....needed to write a best-selling script to make money out of demon summoning."

Keith's expression turned from concern to apathy.

"Excuse me?"

Lance took out his phone. "Yeah, I'm trying to film him using his powers and become a hit sensation over the internet. I might even get a movie deal out of this."

Keith's expression remained the same. He looked Lance up and down. He shook his finger, before retracting it. Not another word was said as Keith walked away from the diner, into the parking lot, and driving off in his moped. At least he didn't have to worry about Keith. For now anyway. Although he swore he saw tire marks along the pavement, going all the way past the mall and through the streets. 

* * *

Shiro put the gift for Lance's mom in a safe place while Lance plomped down on the sofa. 

"Man, we are _so_ not telling my family you're a demon," Lance sunk into the cushion. "It's hard enough to have my friends know."

"Ah, so Keith is your friend," Shiro leaned against the armrest. 

Lance put his head down. 

"Sort of." He raised a finger. "It was never recorded that I forgave him for the sewer incident."

Shiro chuckled. Lance lifted his head to see Shiro stretching, resulting in his demonic appearance coming out. His antlers popping out of his head, his feet turning into hooves, his tail swinging, and Shiro even grew taller in size. He wondered how much energy it took for him to appear human. Or maybe...how many souls and human lives? He turned himself over, about to get his phone out when Shiro made a sudden request.

"Wanna have sex again?"

Lance blushed. 

"Uh...what brought that on?" He lifted himself up.

Shiro shrugged. "You have the rest of the day off. And it's not like we really had anything planned."

 

He had a point. Lance sat up, hands tugging at the hem of his shirt. He wanted to continue what they were doing the night before. To be used by Shiro in such a degrading manner. But did this kind of thing require Lance to wear a costume? He'd seen some BDSM videos where people dressed up. Or, barely dressed up, but there was still a theme to it. And they commonly wore black, so maybe he'd have to scrummage for any black clothes he owned. Maybe he only needed black underwear? But that wouldn't be quite sexy, would it? He'd seen clips of guys subbing, sure, but they also had something binding them. Lance owned some belts since his waist wasn't very wide and he had owned a few baggy jeans in the past. But would those belts be enough.

"Lance."

Lance broke his train of thoughts, shaking his head as he paid attention to the demon again.

"Huh..what?"

"Are you going to undress now?" 

"Oh...yeah," Lance got to taking his shirt off. He bent a leg on the couch, untying his shoe laces and taking his shoes off. "Hey, so....," he slid the shoe off and slipped the sock off, "do we just do what we did yesterday? I mean, I'm only asking 'cause you've probably done this kind of thing before and I don't really know all the ropes to this...."

God, this was embarrassing. It wasn't like Lance hadn't seen kinky stuff before, but it was totally different doing it in real life. It was amazing how those porn stars could get into those roles. Not the parts themselves because even Lance knew they were horrendous at acting, but just getting into the mindset of "I'm about to something really kinky and people are going to be watching." Lance didn't have an audience for this and he was still sweating like crazy thinking about Shiro having complete and total control over him. 

Shiro grabbed Lance's hand in his clasp. 

"We can if you want to. The important thing is that you're comfortable with whatever we do. You know you can stop whenever you want."

Lance touched the palm of Shiro's hand, realizing just how much bigger the demon was than him. And this wasn't even his full form, either. 

"Alright," Lance agreed. "I...want....to try being tied up, if that's okay?"

"On the bed or on the wall?"

"Uh....for simplicity's sake, we can do the bed."

"There we go. And what do you want me to do?"

"Um...maybe you could tell me what to say and if I don't say it how you want me to, you can tighten the grip? And I guess whatever else you think would make you feel like you're in control."

"Alright. I think that can be arranged. Before we go, what's your safe word?"

"Sky."

"Good boy."

 

Lance wasn't completely nude, his briefs remaining on. That and the bed were the only human material possessions in the room to make this scenario work. Lance's wrists and ankles were bounded by shadow webs conjured up by Shiro himself. Shiro also added another feature to make this much more difficult, which was a butt plug that was riding up Lance's ass. 

Shiro's shadow covered Lance's body, arm resting against the wall as he had a look of impatience. 

"You want me to replace that plug with my dick, right?"

Lance nodded. The web tightened.

"You have a mouth. Use it."

Lance gulped. "Yes, sir."

"Good." The grip loosened a bit. "We're going to play a very simple game. So simple that even a fool such as yourself couldn't possibly lose."

"What game are we playing?"

"It's a game similar to that of Simon Says. Except there is no Simon bullshit. You're going to follow every word I say."

Lance's hands shook.

"Aw, don't worry," Shiro lifted Lance's chin. "All you need to do is the thing your best at."

"Which is-"

"Talking," Shiro's nail lingered on Lance's mouth. "But you need to say what I tell you to say. If you try to be a smart ass about it, well," the grip hardened on Lance's ankles. "And there's one more rule. You're not allowed to cum until I take that plug off you. If I see your briefs stained with your humanly fluids, you lose. Do I make myself clear?"

"Loudly, sir."

"Good." Shiro removed himself from Lance, walking back and pacing as he thought about what to have Lance say.

The commands started off easy. It wasn't even words Lance had to say. It was more like "bark" or "meow." As ridiculous as he think he sounded, he mimicked those animal sounds as best he could. He hoped that wasn't all Shiro was going to have him say. Because otherwise there was no fear of not getting him. However, Shiro started ordering him to say more complete sentences. 

"Call yourself a whore." 

Lance blinked. "Uh...I'm a whore?"

The webs tightened. 

"Don't say it so casually," Shiro said. "At least try to act like that's something you'd be ashamed of."

Lance shifted his gaze below. 

"I'm...a w-whore," Lance repeated, this time with more reluctance.

"Good, good. Now, tell me all about how you dance around the streets, begging for attention from anyone that'll give it to you."

"But, I don't-" before Lance could finish that sentence, he was pulled up from his hands and feet. A strain came across his body and he felt like his back was about to burst.

"May I remind you why you summoned me?" Shiro levitated Lance's camcorder, hovering it over the bounded human. "You wanted to film me so that _you_ could get all the attention." Shiro brought the lens closer to Lance's face. "So don't act like you don't go around, hopping on anyone that'll give you the time of day."

Crap, Lance was starting to feel an erection coming on. He tried to keep his thoughts distracted from downstairs as he searched for the words that Shiro wanted to hear from him.

"I....I go around and....dance around anyone for attention." He kept his eyes up on the ceiling. "I want attention so bad...I'll show them my dick."

Lance was pulled once more.

"I never said to say that," Shiro scolded. "As true as that may be."

"Well, I just thought you'd want a little more detail and thought I'd give you more before you asked," Lance complained back, only to have his body stretched out again. He felt close to being pulled apart, his torso area not feeling so well.

"I don't care if you think it's easier. You only talk if you can say what I tell you to say." He clicked his tongue. "And to think this was supposed to be a game made for you to win."

Lance sucked in a breath. He lifted his head slightly to look at his crotch, a visible erection waiting to come out of his briefs.

"You're going to lose at this rate," Shiro slammed his hand against the wall. "And, baby, I don't want you to lose."

"Then take me already-" the web was getting tighter. 

"I'd rather you lose than keep up with that smart mouth." Shiro sighed. "You're never going to win at this rate." He tapped his nails. "Tell you what. We'll play a different game." With a snap of his fingers, the webs attached to Lance's ankles spread his legs wide. His briefs were pulled down and the plug was removed from his asshole. Lance sighed in relief, only to see that plug was being transformed into a short, spiked dildo. 

"If you can handle having this in you for ten minutes without talking, I'll consider it a win. Think you can do that much?"

If Lance wasn't out of breath before he was now.

"Yes, sir," he squealed in a hushed whisper.

Shiro levitated the spiked dildo inside Lance, going all in. It was very rough and dry, something Lance had to admit was pretty uncomfortable. He wished the demon had at least put lube on him first. But the spikes that were hitting against him gave him a kind of pain that sent tingling sensations across his body. It must have been a turn on for him if his erection wasn't going down.

So Lance bit his tongue, so as not to complain about the pain. The dildo would either spin around inside him, or move across him, leaving Lance in pain he didn't know he could experience. For something small, it sure had a big impact on his body. He hoped he wasn't bleeding from this. He didn't feel any blood coming out. Then again, maybe blood would have been better than cum. After all, he needed to feel Shiro in him and he'd go through anything just to get a piece of him.

There was a push that made Lance let out a breath and he almost said something, but was immediately cut off by Shiro, who only had to say his name and give him a stern stare. Lance closed his mouth immediately. He couldn't close his legs, for every time he tried to bring his legs closer, the webs would bring them back to their place. They nearly dragged Lance down the foot of the bed the more he tried. 

He desperately wanted to say something, but the only thing he could realistically say without angering Shiro was the safe word and he didn't want to end their game just yet. As torturous as it was, it had been turning Lance on. As ironic and cliche as it was, he had never felt so alive. Of course, it would be nice if he could unbound, his muscles practically about to explode as well. But he needed to hold on. He wasn't going to give up. Although that didn't stop him from silently praying that it was almost over.

 

What felt like an hour later, his torture was finally over. Shiro looked at his demonic phone, humming as he snapped his fingers, removing the dildo and web. Lance took deep breaths as the demon removed his briefs slowly, running a finger over his balls before touching the tip of his cock.

"I'm impressed you held out," he complimented. "How about I let you sit on my lap while your hands and feet recover?"

"Yeah. That'd be great," Lance heaved his chest, glad to finally have Shiro inside him. 

Shiro carried Lance to the living room, unzipping his pants and putting Lance over his cock. Lance rested against Shiro's body, letting his arms and legs relax as Shiro took over in pumping the cum out of Lance. Lance spilled all over himself, wincing with every stroke Shiro gave.

"It's okay, baby, I got you," Shiro whispered. "You held it all in for me. You're such a good boy."

Shiro ran his hands over Lance's stomach, rubbing it as he left small kisses on the nape of his neck. Shiro only needed to rub himself against the smaller human before he came, too. Once they were done, Shiro snapped his fingers to clean all traces of their fluids from the couch. He gently lifted Lance up as his tail zipped up his pants again. He cradled Lance in his arms, smiling at him.

"You're really good at this," Shiro said.

Lance looked back at him in awe. The light coming off from the branches of his antlers made him look heavenly. Lance smiled back, nudging his head against Shiro's arm.

"I'm glad you think so," Lance placed a kiss on him. "And I'm glad you're good at this, too."

Lance let himself doze off for a minute or two before being fully awake again.

"Oh, shit," Lance pulled himself up. "I need to put my face mask on. And then I need to teach you how to play Gun Slayers!"

Shiro chuckled. 

"You've been waiting to play all day, haven't you?"

"Hey, man, I like to spend my days off sleeping, looking handsome, and taking down newbs."

"Newbs?"

Lance pouted. "I gotta teach you gaming lingo, too. Another item to add on my list on what to prepare you for when meeting my family."

Lance got off of Shiro, making his way to the restroom as best he could with a throbbing ass. Shiro gave him some assistance by summoning black smoke to lift the human up and take him where he needed to go. He tied his blue robe around himself before applying his face mask in front of the mirror. As soon as he finished, he hooked up the game system and turned on the TV. He plugged in another controller, handing it to Shiro and spent the rest of their day teaching him the basics of Gun Slayers. 


	9. Testing a Demon's Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance forgets some important documents at work, so Shiro offers to retrieve those for him. Except Shiro has the unfortunate luck of meeting Lance's boss.

The good news was that sex with Shiro was improving with each passing day. The bad news was that Lance found it harder to walk normally. He was grateful his job required him to sit behind a desk, but he could hear the whispers of his coworkers making fun of him behind his back whenever he got up and walked. He was making phone calls that day, sending reminders to people that had appointments with the different departments of the Coalition. The Coalition had been attracting the eyes of various schools and potential sections that would fund the building and further the scientific research of these bright scientists. It certainly helped Lance maintain a job anyway. 

With every call he made and answered, Lance scrolled through his phone, checking on his Twitter and Instagram. He was lost in thought about setting up a social media account for Shiro when a funny looking little man popped up beside him as he hung up on another call.

"Mr. Mendez!"

Lance nearly screamed, shoving his phone in his pants.

"I wasn't on my phone, I swear!"

The man raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What are you talking about? We have much more important matters to discuss than silly phones." The man opened his over the shoulder bag, taking out some folders and leaving them on the counter of the desk. "I have work for you to do."

"Uh...what kind of work?" Lance looked at the folders with an unimpressed look, his frown sinking further down as he eyed how thick it was. 

"These files are completely mismatched! Not only are the individual departments completely enmeshed, they are ordered in a completely inaccurate way!" The man pulled back his face. He was in one of those moods. "Alphabetical order only increases our chances of receiving more funds by 5%. If we organize them by date and content, however, we have an increased 45%!"

"And you want me to organize it?"

"Of course," the man nodded. "You are obviously the right fit for this job." 

Lance wasn't sure if this was in his job description, but it's not like the Director of the whole Coalition ever asked him for much so he figured he'd do this as a favor.

"Fine, I can do it right now-"

"Right now?! Are you crazy?!" The Director shook his finger. "Absolutely not! You obviously have work to do right now! You must complete this task at home and turn it in to my office when everything is complete!"

"What?" Lance groaned. "Are you serious?! I have to do work at home? I thought I was done with homework."

"Do not view it as homework, young Lance. Think of it as you being a worker bee that is doing work for the greater good of the hive! Especially when the Queen, which would be me, is busy managing the rest of the Coalition to make sure everything is perfect for our upcoming visits."

"So, you're passing off your work to me because you can't be bothered?"

"Exactly," the Director admitted without shame. "But do not worry. You have plenty of time to properly organize everything."

"And what's stopping me from not doing something that isn't in my job description?"

"Overtime and double pay!"

"I'll get it done right away," Lance lifted the folders and placed them beside the phone. "When do you need these done by?"

"This Monday! You will have all weekend to get it done!"

Lance's face went pale. The cookout was this weekend. He didn't want to bring work with him to his parents' place. Especially not when he would need to worry about convincing them that Shiro was a completely ordinary human (with the exception of his looks). And judging by the pile, it didn't look like it would be done right away. Then again, he did have a demon so maybe he could convince said demon to do the work for him.

"So, what if I get it done before the weekend?"

"Oh, that would be impressive!" The Director scratched his chin. "Although, the chances of you finishing this work before the weekend are rather low. You have a higher chance of getting it done over the weekend."

"No! I can totally get this done before the week is up!"

"Hm...," the Director eyed him suspiciously. "If that is what you want, although I fear that it may affect your work performance. Regardless, do not feel bad if you do not get it done in your attempted goal time. But I do not have time to think of this. I must oversee the horticulture department. I hear Professor Ryner has found a correlation between healthy skin and a fruit. Which fruit is beyond me, seeing as how I can't recall which reality this one is. But good luck to you, Lance!"

"Yeah, thanks Director Slav," Lance waved at him, only for Director Slav to be power walking away.

Lance continued his work, resuming his phone calls and browsing through his own smartphone. His shift was up, relieved that he was done for the day. He got out of his chair slowly, relieved that the pain wasn't as bad as it had been earlier. He shook his legs a bit, careful with his steps as he went to clock out and drive off home.

 

Shiro wasn't waiting for him, giving Lance the impression that he had business in the demon realm. He got out of his stuffy clothes, ready to kick back with a tee and jeans. He lay down on the couch, deciding which social media platform Shiro should have. Everyone had Facebook, so it was probably a good start. His demon didn't need to be popular right away, anyway, so it would be best to avoid Twitter and Instagram. As Lance kept thinking to himself, he thought about how easy it was for him to get home. He thought it would have been a struggle, but the pain practically subsided. That and he wasn't carrying anything heavy.

That's when it hit him. He left the folders at work.

"FUCK!" Lance blurted out just as Shiro returned home.

"With pleasure," Shiro pulled Lance into him.

Lance jumped, shaking his head.

"NO, not that kind of fuck. And don't jump up behind me!"

Shiro removed his hands from the human.

"So, what does fuck mean in this context?"

"It means I fucked up," Lance paced back and forth. "I had some folders I needed to take home and get done before the weekend, but I totally forgot to take it with me! If I don't get it done in time, I'll have to take it with me to the cookout, and then I'll be distracted, and then I'll get confused and let it slip out that you're actually a demon and then my family will exorcise you out of my life and WE WON'T BE WORKING TOGETHER ANYMORE! MY DREAMS OF BECOMING A CELEBRITY IN THE SUPERNATURAL COMMUNITY WILL BE DESTROYED!"

"C-calm down," Shiro waved his hands slowly, putting them on Lance's shoulders. "That's not going to happen. Look, if you want, I can go to your work and get those folders for you. I can teleport over there, without being spotted, and bring them back here."

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Lance's eyes twinkled.

"Yes, I would," Shiro snapped his fingers, appearing human again and dressed in a rather business casual outfit. "It shouldn't take me long. Just tell me where to go and what I'm looking for and I'll be back soon."

"Oh, thank you, Shiro." Lance could feel himself crying. "I know you say you're a demon, but you're really an angel."

"Don't push it." 

Lance described the folders to Shiro, telling him that it'll be right in the front desk. With that, Shiro disappeared once more, with Lance deciding to take that time to kill some time by watching some videos. 

* * *

Shiro teleported right in the building, materializing in the shadow of a planted tree that was in the hall. The building was closed for the day, or at least closed for regular visitors as he saw a couple of staff members walk by. The desk was close, so all he had to do was walk right over and pick up the folders. He hoped he appeared professional enough to not be questioned if someone spotted him. With another look-see of the area, he walked right over to the front desk. 

The desk was mostly barren save for the computer and folders. He picked them up, lifting them as if to determine their weight. He couldn't deny that this could be considered a lot of work by human standards. A piece of paper with "Olkarion Forest" in the title caught his attention. He set the folders down for a bit and picked up the paper. It came with a photograph of a sketch, something that appeared tall and feathery. A sighting that was reported of a large bird in the forest. Underneath the sketch was a description of what was spotted, although it wasn't much. Shiro knew better, however, as this was no bird that was spotted. He had a guess, but before he could say it aloud, he heard a man with an accent call to him.

"Excuse me!" 

Shiro snapped out of his attention, turning to see a small man with a turtleneck.

"Who are you and what do you think you are doing?"

Shiro really didn't want to have to use his power against a defenseless old man, so he tried a more peaceful approach.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just picking these up for Lance. He was too busy to come back here and it was on my way."

"Hm.....," the man stared at him. "And who let you in here?"

"Uh...." This was bad. It looked like he would need to use his powers on him. He put a hand behind his back, twisting his wrist to make the shadows rise. 

"Oh, I bet it was one of the younger interns. Someone of your build, height and appearance is sure to be desirable by many of our young staff. And you're probably trying to cover for them." He nodded as if he had figured the situation out. "I suppose I can allow this to slide, considering you must be the mysterious boyfriend of Lance."

"You know about me?"

"Of course," the man said matter of factly. "You are the talk of the building. I am Director Slav, by the way." He held a hand out.

"Oh. I'm Takashi Shirogane," Shiro shook the man's hand. "But Shiro will do just fine."

"Ah, so we are in a reality where you prefer to go by a nickname."

"Reality?"

"Don't you know, silly man?" He shook his head in disappointment, as if the concept of other realities should be common knowledge. "There are an infinite number of realities. And by that, there are a number of possibilities for various events. Once you know the reality you are in, it's easy to calculate and predict which decisions and actions will garner the best results."

"I see." This was a strange man. He needed to end the conversation quick as Lance was waiting for him. "Well, Director Slav, it was nice to meet you-"

"Wait! I need your help!"

"Oh? My help?" Shiro was confused. "Did you need me to carry something for you?"

"Pfft, no. There was a reason you showed up here and a reason I happened to catch you. This is clearly the reality where you help me with a little project which will increase the project's success by a good 5%!"

"Oh, I don't know. Lance is expecting me and-"

"And it won't take long if you perform the right steps! Please, Shiro. I'm begging you. I can't do this without your help."

Shiro looked at a clock on the wall. He supposed Lance wouldn't mind waiting an extra five minutes. Plus, the man looked like he really needed his help. Thus, he agreed and allowed Slav to drag him to his lab.

 

Those five minutes turned into forty-five minutes as, apparently, Shiro wasn't performing the right steps. Slav had ordered Shiro to help him setup the lab and as Shiro set down basks and stoves, Slav would stop him.

"No, no! You need to place it right in the center!"

"But it is in the center."

Slav took out a ruler. "But it must be exactly in the center."

"For safety reasons?"

"For a greater chance at the experiment working when I perform it!"

"Greater chance?"

Slav sighed. "You do not know anything, Mr. Shirogane. If you want to increase your chances of getting the outcome you desire, you must think of every possibility and make the right adjustments. Otherwise, you will be doomed and it could mean certain death if something is even one centimeter out of place!"

Shiro was getting frustrated, but used the tape to find the perfect spot to place the mini stove. But that was only the start. Slav was insistent on the basks and vials being placed in not only descending height order, but width, measurements, and how wide their openings were. Even things outside of the experiment area needed adjusting as he saw Slav messing around with other items in the lab, such as wiping the white board down vertically and patting down a rolling chair. 

Shiro kept helping him, thinking that maybe Slav was merely superstitious. Yeah, that had to be it. He's dealt with superstitious humans before. 

And then Slav let out a shriek.

"What happened?" Shiro ran up to Slav, who then immediately put his arms around him.

"Shiro, it's terrible!" Slav clutched the hem of Shiro's shirt. "The experiment will be ruined!"

"Calm down. Now tell me what's wrong."

"That!" Slav pointed at a pink stain on the desk.

"A messy desk?"

"Messy? Oh, no, no," Slav pulled down Shiro's shirt. "It's worse than that. There is a pink substance on the desk!"

"And?"

"And?! Pink is one of the most unlucky colors you can have in this room! A pink stain indicates that something unnatural was in here and that it will contaminate anyone and anything that touches its surface!"

"But it could be from a soda-"

"Which. Makes. It. Worse!" Slav practically cried. 

"Okay. Well, I could look for a paper towel and you can wipe it off-"

"ME?! WIPE IT OFF?! I COULD DIE FROM COMING INTO CONTACT WITH THAT!" He pointed at the desk again. "It may not be soda. It could be a chemical that someone didn't properly wipe down. And if it is soda, it could still be dangerous! WHAT IF I'M DIABETIC?! I DON'T REMEMBER IF THIS IS THE REALITY WHERE MY BLOOD SUGAR IS SO HIGH THAT EVEN TOUCHING A SUGARY SUBSTANCE WILL DOOM ME!"

"IT'S JUST A TINY STAIN!"

"Oh no, I can feel myself fainting," Slav slid down to the floor.

Shiro breathed heavily. He took the sad, human man off of him, offering to clean the stain for him. Slav was grateful and insisted on Shiro using a specific spray to ensure the best results. Shiro left the lab to the nearest restroom, taking out a few pieces of paper towels and returning to the lab. Slav had the spray ready for him and urged Shiro to wipe the whole desk in circles. At first, Shiro believed he only wanted the surface circled, but Slav told him to keep doing it to the whole desk.

By the time Shiro was done, Slav nodded approvingly.

"Very good, Shiro. Now that the lab has been set up perfectly, your services are no longer required."

"So, I'm free to go?" Shiro said in the most hopeful tone he's ever used in his entire existence.

"Certainly!" 

Shiro smiled as he headed out the door. However, as he opened the door, he felt something hit him. Or rather, someone hit him. He looked down to see Slav was heading out as well.

"Aren't you going to perform your experiment?"

Slav gave a laugh. "Aha, not right now, Mr. Shirogane. I am going to start on it first thing tomorrow morning!"

Shiro's eye twitched. 

"But you said you needed my help with the project."

"I did. And you helped me immensely. Thanks to your help, I will have a 95% success rate tomorrow! If you weren't here, it would have been merely 87%."

The demon's blood boiled. 

"Isn't an 87 still passing?"

"Yes, but I go for the highest results possible!" Slav yawned. "Well, it is about time I head home. Do be careful with those folders on your way out. And don't worry about being locked in. The janitors are still here for another three hours, so you'll be able to leave just fine."

Slav whistled as he walked past Shiro, completely oblivious to Shiro's shattered hope in finding the good in humanity. He would give the folders to Lance, but first he needed to retreat to the demon realm to let out some steam.

* * *

Lance was met with another inbox message from Shiro's phone. He hadn't realized how long Shiro was gone for until he was watching his third video and Shiro still had yet to return. However, he sighed in relief when he saw a black portal appear in the apartment and out came Shiro carrying the folders.

"Oh, Shiro, thank goodness," Lance set his phone down. "The folders were on the desk, right?"

"Yes, they were," Shiro responded, his eyes looking tired and red. "I just came across your boss."

"Oh, Slav? Yeah, that'd explain why you took forever to get here." Lance picked the folders out of Shiro's hands, placing them on the coffee table in the living room. "But you managed to make it out without getting bored out of your mind, so I'm glad you made it back in one piece."

"I don't think I'm the one that should be feeling relieved." 

Lance separated the folders, Shiro sitting down in the couch and letting his hooves come out as he rested them on the table.

"Hey, careful!" Lance scolded. That's when he remembered. "Hey, seeing as how you got familiar with my boss, I'm sure this could get done in no time if you do it-"

Shiro gave Lance a furrowed, violent scowl and gaze, a low warning rumble coming from his chest.

"If you do it with me, of course," Lance added, getting the hint that whatever Shiro went through, he was getting close to causing the apocalypse. To prove that he meant it, Lance started separating each of the contents. 

Shiro took his hooves off the table and assisted Lance in organizing the paperwork. They worked together on it late into the night, but they completed the task and Lance turned it in the next day, now able to look forward to the cookout without worry. The only negative result was Lance struggling to stay awake during work. 


	10. Keeping Secrets Is Not Lance's Forte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Shiro arrive at Lance's family home for the cookout. While his family adores Shiro, that doesn't mean all suspicions are forgotten.

They decided to head out early in the morning to Lance's family home. A trip to the supermarket to grab chips and soda was a must, although Shiro insisted that they bring an actual meal to chip in. Lance really didn't want to considering the distance and the lack of a cooler, only to see Shiro lifting one up suddenly. He hated when his demon conjured materials up to make Lance run out of excuses. They grabbed some cuts, paid for their stuff, and drove off.

Lance kept his eyes on the road, but his mind was on how he was going to pull off the story with Shiro. Veronica was probably pissed at him for the apparent "secret." Okay, there was a secret, but that was the secret Lance was willing to take with him to the grave. And all the while, Shiro was inspecting the gift he was going to give his mother. Oh God, if his mother knew she was receiving something from a demon, she'd faint. 

"Everything will be fine, Lance," Shiro broke the silence. "I'll make sure of it."

"That's not a threat,  is it?" 

"Of course not," Shiro set the small gift on his lap. "But as your personal demon, it's my job to ensure that nothing bad happens to you."

"I hope nothing bad happens to you."

 

They pulled up to his family home, where the street was filled with other cars. He had to park in front of a neighbor's house because of how crowded the family home was. He took a deep breath, checked himself out in the rear view mirror and fixed up his hair, practicing his smile. Shiro leaned his head on his hand, looking at him in annoyance.

"Is that really necessary?"

"What? I gotta look better than my brothers and sisters. It's my duty as the golden child to look my absolute best." He gave himself a wink in the mirror. 

Shiro huffed, opening the door to step out. Lance scrambled to get out of the car and take their belongings in. He walked in front of Shiro, turning his head over his shoulder.

"Stay close."

The two walked past the yellowing grass lawn and up the slope of the single-story house. He peered through the window to see that his mom, grandma and Rachel were in the kitchen whilst Veronica spoke with Lisa, Marco and Dad as his niece and nephew were playing around them. With another breath, Lance locked his hand around the doorknob, opening it and putting on a big smile for them.

"Hey, y'all!"

The house greeted Lance with smiles and open arms.

"Uncle Lance!" His niece and nephew ran up to their no-contest favorite uncle, wrapping themselves around him. Lance ruffled their hairs and hugged them back as he gave the same embrace to his siblings, parents, grandparents and sister-in-law. 

"So, you finally decide to see your Mama," his mom teased.

"Of course," Lance laughed, placing his hands on his mom's shoulders, the woman being much shorter than him but more stout. "What kind of son would I be if I didn't come out to see my sweet, dear Mama?"

"A son that came for free food," his Mama poked at his chest. Then she moved out of his embrace to take a look at Shiro, who waved at her.

"Hello, Mrs. Mendez," Shiro said. "I'm Shiro. A pleasure to meet you."

"And you finally decided to bring this secret boyfriend of yours too, huh?" She gave her son a temperamental look, to which Lance merely shrugged as everyone gathered around Shiro.

"Wait," Lance realized, "who told you?"

"You think Vero wouldn't tell us?" Rachel said.

Lance gave a shocked look at Veronica.

"What? You never said to keep him a secret," Veronica walked past her younger brother to get a better look at the mysterious boyfriend. 

Shiro greeted every one of Lance's family members before presenting his gift to Lance's mom. He placed it in her hands and she looked up at him in awe. 

"Oh, mijo, you didn't have to," she opened the gift to find the orchid hairpin. 

"But I did. We were never properly introduced until now. This is my way of apologizing and asking for your blessing to date your son."

Lance's mother was completely swayed by the tall, handsome (demon) man. Of course, his siblings went straight into teasing Shiro for being so polite, urging him to relax and loosen up around them. Lance set their items on the kitchen counter table with Veronica following behind him. He knew they would soon ask about their relationship, but before he could tell the story to everyone Veronica pointed a thumb down the hall.

"Can I speak to you? Alone?"

"Uh, sure."

Veronica led them away from everyone. He knew his sister was ready to kill him. He took one last look at everyone, glad that Shiro was getting along with them. Maybe they'd accept him as their new son when Veronica was done murdering him. 

 

She closed the door behind her, the two having retreated to her and Rachel's old shared bedroom. A few of the girls' respective belongings remained from some of Rachel's old clothes and jewelry to a couple of Veronica's old DVDs and binders. There was only one bed that remained with the other having been rid of long ago. This would be Lance's grave. He prepped himself for his sister ripping him a new one.

"Okay, what's the real deal with Shiro?" She questioned. 

"He's my boyfriend," he answered. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"Bullshit," Veronica crossed her arms. "You mean to tell me that you've been going out with a guy like that for a whole year without telling anyone?"

"We met online. I didn't know how to explain that to Mama. You know she doesn't get the concept of online dating."

"Doesn't mean you wouldn't tell everyone else."

Lance leaned back against the bed frame.

"Veronica, I'm sorry. I know I should have told you sooner-"

"That's not what this is about."

Lance pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Then what are you upset about?"

"I'm not upset. I'm suspicious." She stood closer to him. "How did you two really meet? Is he an escort or something?"

Lance was flabbergasted. That was one way to put it.

"N-no! Of course not! Why would I bring an escort here?!"

"Because you were too embarrassed to tell me over the phone and thought that by hiring the same guy to pretend to be your boyfriend that you'd get away with it."

Lance's face turned red. She was reading way too deep into this. He shook his head vehemently.

"That's ridiculous! Look, I promise you that Shiro is not an escort! He just recently moved in with me and I was prepping for how to tell you and everyone else." He slunk down to sit on the bed. "I wasn't trying to keep it secret from you. I swear."

Veronica sighed. She put her hand on the frame.

"I know you're not." She rubbed her thumb along the metal. "I'm just concerned about him appearing all of a sudden. That's all."

Lance was relieved to hear that, but more relieved when their mom called for their return. Veronica adjusted her glasses.

"But I still don't believe you and I'm going to find out what's up."

And he went back to worrying. 

 

 

Shiro had joined Rachel, Lisa and Marco in a card game while Lance's grandparents had kept Luis company outside. Veronica began to help prep some of the food whilst Lance played with the kids. As Shiro won the next round, he took a quick look at his phone and got up from the table.

"Excuse me, but is there a room I might be able to use?" Shiro asked. "There's an important call I need to make."

"Of course," Lance's father replied. "Lance, show your boyfriend to your room. We haven't left anything important there for him to rummage."

"Sure, Dad." Lance leaned his head to the side as a sign for Shiro to follow him. 

When they got in, the room had more of Lance's belongings compared to the previous room. It was no surprise as he had completely overtaken the room when his brothers were old enough to leave off on their own. Although one could argue that a couple of posters that remained on the wall had belonged to his brothers before they gave them to him, so it was a little of all three left in the room. 

"I didn't know demons could receive calls from Hell while there were on Earth."

"It's not that, Lance," Shiro summoned a portal on the floor. "I have some business in the demon realm that I need to take care of. It shouldn't be very long, perhaps an hour at most. All I need you to do is keep your family at bay until I get back."

"You know this isn't going to look good, right?"

"As I said, I will return. Besides, the food isn't ready yet. As long as I come back in time for that, your family won't be suspicious."

"Whatever you say."

And with that, Shiro disappeared. Lance peered out the door, seeing everyone was still busy with what they were doing before. He kept track of the time and knew an hour of distraction would be nothing for him. Not like anyone went into his old room to begin with.

* * *

Lance was able to play games with his niece and nephew, playing on one of the old consoles that he and his siblings owned. He let the kids win a few times, but still made sure to have the most wins compared to them as he needed to show them who was the best. He had to turn the console off, however, when Luis called for his help in taking the meat back inside the house. He looked at his phone to see the time, more than an hour having already passed. Shiro would most likely be back any moment, so he left the kids to help set up.

By the time he took in the second plate of stacked up meat, his Mama bugged him to go check on Shiro and announce that it was time to eat. Lance agreed, but as he walked past the kitchen and living room, the children were nowhere to be seen. He looked around, hearing out for them and peeking into any opened bedrooms to make sure they weren't in his room. He quickly leaned against the master bedroom, his parents' room, turning the knob and relieved to find it locked. He believed his niece and nephew were inside and so entered his own room without any qualms.

Until he saw the children pulling on Shiro's arms while Shiro was in his more demonic form. Shiro looked guiltily at the human while also trying to entertain the kids.

"Uncle Lance, you never told us your boyfriend was the boogie man!" His niece exclaimed. 

Lance's face curled up. 

"Does he sleep under your bed?" His nephew asked.

"I, he," Lance tried to form a coherent sentence, but then heard Veronica's voice as the door behind him opened wider.

"Lance, you and Shiro need to-"

Lance pushed his sister out of the way, closing the door behind him.

"Yup, almost done!"

"Hey, are Nadia and Silvio in there?" Veronica looked behind Lance.

"Uh...yeah. They're just...playing pretend! With Shiro!"

Veronica pushed her brother out of the way, opening the door again to see Shiro wearing his antlers, but his tail and hooves having disappeared. 

"And these are what I like to wear when I scare people," Shiro tingled his fingers in front of the children, making them laugh. He turned back to Veronica, waving at her. "Oh, hello. I was just showing these kids an act I do as the boogeyman for a play."

"You're an actor?" Veronica asked. 

Shiro tilted his hand. "Well, not professionally. But I like to take parts here and there. I'm very interested in American theater, though, so I was glad about Lance recommending a few places to try out at."

"Uh....yup," Lance folded his arms. "That's totally it, heh."

Veronica perked an eyebrow. 

"Well, we need to eat now. Mama's gonna kill us if we don't get our butts to the table soon."

Nadia and Silvio pushed past their aunt and uncle, Veronica distracted looking at them when Shiro got rid of his antlers. They joined the rest of the family at the table, passing around meats and sauces, his Mama offering arroz con pollo to Shiro and Lance placing the meat he and Shiro bought earlier on his plate. There were different steaks and chickens to be enjoyed as well as some hot dogs on the side in case anyone was more in the mood for that instead. The family had a little bit of everything and when all was done, Shiro offered himself and Lance to wash the dishes. 

"My what a good man you are, Shiro," Lance's Mama wiped her hands with a nearby washcloth. "Such a good influence on my son."

"Hey!"

"Get to it, mijo," she playfully slapped her son's butt before joining her husband outside for some fresh air. 

"Oh, I'll help," Lisa gathered a few plates in her hands. 

"Me, too!" Rachel grabbed more as well. Luis followed suit, telling his kids to do smaller tasks such as throwing the trash away and clearing the table of sauces and condiments. 

The real reason for Shiro offering himself and Lance to do the tasks was so that they could talk in private, but after the dishes were brought to them, he assured them that they would be able to finish washing the rest of the plates on their own. The other tasks were completed, so everyone gathered in the living room to watch some TV. 

Lance focused on scrubbing a plate clean as Shiro spoke softly to him.

"I thought you were going to keep your family away from your room."

"I was gone for one minute. How was I supposed to know my sobrinos were going to walk in on you. And on that note, did you have to come back in that form? Why didn't you show up in this form to begin with?"

"I thought I had some privacy," Shiro wiped the plates dry and then placed them on the dish rack. 

"Did they really buy that you were pretending to be the boogie man?"

"No, but better for them to think I am the boogie man pretending to play a boogie man than for me to tell them I'm really a demon."

"Maybe you can make them forget? Or make them think it was all a dream?" Lance handed a soaking cup to Shiro.

"I don't know. They seemed really happy to see me as the boogie man. I mean, I can alter their memories as they get older if you'd like, but I don't think we have anything to worry about for now."

Lance could understand that logic. Plus, it seemed like the kids were intent on keeping the secret. He looked over to the living room, and the two didn't bother talking about Shiro to the other adults, meaning they must have already caught on that it was important not to tell everyone. He also took notice of Veronica staring at them and he quickly turned his attention back to the cups and plates.

 

It had been getting late. Marco was the first to leave, followed by Rachel who had plans to go out clubbing with some friends late into the night. Lance took that as their chance for him to go back home with Shiro. He really didn't want to be under Veronica's scrutinizing eye. Before he could leave, Veronica managed to drag Lance with her to the grocery store to pick up some ice cream for the rest of the family that remained. And she managed to make sure Shiro didn't go with them either.

They took her car to the store, taking a longer route to get there. Lance attempted to turn the radio on, but Veronica quickly smacked his hand.

"Alright, are you gonna tell me now what's really going on with your boyfriend?"

Lance groaned. "I already told you. We met online and he recently moved here."

"And you were freaking out about me seeing him in a costume."

"I was not!"

Veronica drove the car in a nearly empty parking lot of an old, run-down bargain store. She put her car on park, arms resting on the wheel as she looked at Lance.

"Spill it. Now."

"Uh....," Lance looked up at the ceiling of the car. "Shiro's....a furry?" He smiled and nodded to himself. "Yup. He's a furry. We like to roleplay and the kids just so happened to catch him trying on those antlers."

He looked back at Veronica who clearly wasn't buying it. 

"Do you honestly expect me to buy that?"

"And how is that unbelievable?"

"If it was coming from you, sure," Veronica nodded. "But it wasn't you. It was Shiro. And so far, he seems a lot more responsible than you."

_Not responsible enough to not come back to the family home in his more demonic form._

"What can I tell you that you'll believe me?" Lance was getting irritated that his sister wasn't dropping the subject. She was pressuring him to reveal something that could be dangerous. Was she trying to boss him around? Just because he was the youngest didn't make him a little kid. 

"Just tell me the truth!" Her hair waved past her face. "Lance, if you're in trouble, you know you can tell me."

"What? Because I have a boyfriend now you're scared?"

"That's not it, Lance! You know I haven't confronted you like this about your previous boyfriends and girlfriends."

"None of them were serious like Shiro and you know that!"

"Lance, tell me, what's going on? I want to help you."

"No!"

"Lance!"

"You wouldn't believe me!" Lance bit his lip. "You'd think I was crazy and stupid and-" Lance blinked, tears escaping his eyes. "I can't." 

Veronica moved her arms away from the steering wheel. She sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Lance....," she patted him, "I want to help. I just...don't want you to get hurt." Her hand dropped from him. "At first, I was more surprised that you could possibly keep a secret for so long. Then the more I thought about it, the more weird it seemed." She put her hands on the sides of her seat. "I just...thought maybe you were in trouble or something. I didn't mean to pry like that."

Veronica was about to start the car again when Lance stopped her.

"Wait." He didn't want to make his sister feel like shit over this. It wasn't worth it. "Alright, this is honest to God the truth. And if you don't believe me, I get it. But...don't beat yourself over it, okay?"

Veronica leaned back, waiting for her brother to come clean. 

"The truth is...." Lance wiped his nose. "I....summoned a demon. And Shiro is that demon." He rubbed his neck. "I've been filming him using his powers and I want to turn my experience with him into a movie or show or webseries. Just...something that'll get me famous like those ghost hunters or people who make videos on the occult." He straightened his back. "But he doesn't have my soul! I have another deal with him that I'm not ready to talk about, but I swear I'm fine and he hasn't done anything to hurt me. And he would never hurt you, or our sobrinos, or anyone in our family."

Lance tried to see what he can pick apart in Veronica's face. She kept a straight face, biting her lip and shifting her gaze around the car before looking back at him.

"You know....that actually makes sense." She nodded. "I don't know why you thought that was a good idea, but we don't have to talk about that right now." She turned the car back on and drove them to the store. "And the kids?"

"They think he's the boogeyman. And I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else."

"Anyone else know about this?"

"Just my friends. And Keith."

"Keith's your friend, too."

"I mean, I guess, but he doesn't have the same status as Hunk and Pidge."

"You're gonna have to let that go eventually."

"Never!"

Veronica rolled her eyes, but agreed to keep that secret for him. At least there was someone in his family he didn't have to lie to.

* * *

Shiro drove them back home. They said their goodbyes to the family and headed out. The night traffic wasn't so bad and it looked beautiful with the car and city skies illuminating the night. Lance admitted to Shiro that Veronica now knows about their secret, but that she wasn't gonna tell anyone. 

"And she doesn't want to kill me?" 

"That I'm not sure," Lance pushed his seat back. "I don't think she's plotting your demise, but she probably will if you do anything to me."

"You know I would never," Shiro rubbed a hand over Lance's. 

Lance held his hand back. 

"Hey, so, what did you need to do in the demon realm?" 

Shiro shrugged. "Just...demon stuff."

"Do I need to have sex with you to get a real answer?"

"You'll find out. I promise."

Lance leaned his head against the window. The day didn't go quite as planned, but there weren't any grudges that came of it. And Shiro was still here. He could still feel his hand on his. He knew Veronica was on his side. And that Shiro was playing the role of model boyfriend well. But he had to remind himself that this was all a part of their deal. Shiro was using him and vice versa. Except there were moments Lance didn't think about their deal whenever Shiro showed him affection. He just...liked Shiro's attention. Nothing more. Nothing less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. You may have noticed that I posted two chapters in one day. Well, after this chapter, The Demon's Bond will not be updating as often I've been aiming to. I'm not saying it will go on hiatus, but I do have some other writing projects and stuff I want to prioritize for November, so don't be surprised if updates are a bit slower this time around. Comments are still appreciated and I hope you look forward to future chapters.
> 
> P.S. I'll probably change the names of Lance's niece and nephew if the crew gives them any official names.
> 
> EDIT 12/14/18: I changed the names of the kids to that of their canon names.


	11. Nature Documentary or Lost Footage?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang are ready to experience the great outdoors. And to find cryptids. They might have some out-there expectations, but will this experience be more than they could have imagined?

Pants, tees, socks, and jackets covered one corner of the bed with half of it filled with various ointments, shampoos, bug sprays, and other personal hygiene items and the other half with a flashlight, camcorder, portable charger, and a machine whose purpose was unknown. Lance lifted one bottle after another, reading through on their instructions. Shiro had his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, bored and kind of annoyed that he couldn't even sit on the bed. 

"Do you really need this much for a weekend trip?" 

Lance turned his head to him, bottle still in hand. 

"Yes, Shiro. I do. Going out in the wilderness means having to be extra careful with my skin."

"Then what is this for?" Shiro opened his palm, levitating the strange contraption.  

Lance snatched it right back up. "That is for reading signals of strange life."

"Where did you get something like that?"

"Hunk built it," Lance waved it. "He originally made it for Pidge, but then Pidge said I could borrow it and I've been borrowing it ever since."

"And how long ago was that?"

Lance tapped the machine against his chin. "Hm.....What month is it?"

Shiro gave him a judgmental look. "You're returning it on this trip. I'll make sure of it."

"You're no fun," Lance put the machine back on the bed. "Anyway, I think I may have decided what I'm taking. I know it's a little less than what I normally take-"

"Less?"

"Yes, less." Lance picked his long, ruffle bag from the floor and started putting his stuff inside. 

Normally he'd be scared and excited for a trip like this, with fear typically showing up more. But for some reason, he was feeling less scared. He would have been hyperventilating at this point before the expedition, but not once did he need to crouch down to take a breather. He zipped up his bag, putting back down next to the bed and laid down. He hugged his pillow tight, allowing his eyes to close as he thought about what monsters lied in the Olkari Forest. He felt something weighing down the bed and before he could turn to see, an arm covered him. 

"Are you guys well-equipped when it comes to food and medicine?" Shiro asked, letting his lips brush against Lance's ear.

"Well, Hunk's in charge of packing the food and Pidge is way too prepared when it comes to any outdoors trips. I wouldn't be surprised if she brought a whole hospital with her."

Shiro chuckled, leaving light kisses behind Lance's ear. Their legs intertwined and Lance allowed himself to hold Shiro's hand. 

"Want me to be mean and scary for a bit before bed?" Shiro asked.

"How scary are you gonna be?"

"Enough to make you wanna cum."

Shiro bit down on Lance, having his long nails press against Lance's tummy. Lance shuddered, wanting more of his demon. 

"Let me cum," he begged.

"Blow me first."

Lance rolled out of the bed, getting on his knees and spreading Shiro's legs apart. The demon got rid of his bottoms and undergarments, his cock thick and swollen despite Lance not touching him yet. Shiro lifted Lance's head up with his hoof, inspecting Lance's face.

"Show me how you're gonna take me."

Lance opened his mouth, putting lips out in front of him.

"Don't look like that," Shiro's tail flicked Lance's cheek. "I don't want to be sucked on by a fish."

Lance then showed off his teeth. He knew very well the faces he was making were useless for giving a proper blowjob. But he wanted Shiro to get aggravated with him. To make him feel powerless.

The tail was stuffed right into his mouth.

"Honestly, making me do all the work." Shiro sighed in annoyance. "You are such a helpless human. But that's why you need me, right? Need me to remind you of your place. To give you what you need."

Lance licked his tongue over the tail's surface. Shiro's tail had a leaner tip but it grew in thickness the further down it went. The tail slithered out of his mouth, leaving Lance to drool and pant for something to be put in his mouth.

"Do it like that," Shiro commanded. "And no changes."

The saliva-covered tail pushed Lance's head down to Shiro's dick. Lance put as much of it in his mouth as he possibly could. He was about to wrap his hands around the base of the cock, only to have his hand swatted by Shiro.

"If you wanted to use your hands for help, you should have asked earlier. Put your hands behind your back. I don't want to see them until you're done."

Lance would have nodded had his head not been currently occupied, but he did as Shiro ordered anyway. He motioned his body along to try and take in as much of Shiro while also twisting his tongue around to do what he could. It took a few minutes, but Shiro came inside of Lance's mouth. He tried to swallow as much of it before any of it could leak out of him, not wanting to make a mess on the sheets. When he believed he gulped up as much as he could, he pulled himself back.

"Was that good?" Lance asked, rubbing his jaw.

"Don't address me so casually," Shiro narrowed his eyes down on Lance.

Lance thought for a moment. "Uh...did you like it, Master?"

Shiro nodded. "Much better. And yes," he stretched his hand out to rub Lance's cheek, "I did."

Shiro used his demon powers to create a dark blanket that covered the bed. He urged Lance to sit in between his thighs and aided Lance in jacking off. When Lance released himself, the two lay back down, the blanket disappearing, and the bed not covered in stains. 

* * *

Hunk took up the responsibility of driving to the campsite (mostly because it was his family's truck they were using), following the GPS on his phone. Lance tried to lean his seat back, but kept getting kicked by Pidge.

"Knock it off!"

"Shut up! You're short, therefore you don't have space that I'm taking up!"

"Quit it!"

"Lance, be nice. Just give her a little space," Shiro leaned his head against the window. 

Lance pouted, but moved his seat slightly forward, earning a smug look from Pidge who stretched her legs out for a moment before folding them back in a criss-cross position. Lance rolled his eyes.

"Are you sure Keith didn't want to ride with us?" Shiro turned his gaze to the rear view mirror. "It looks like there would have been enough room for him in here."

"He said he'd meet us at the last pit stop before the forest's entrance," Hunk lit up his turn signal before going into another lane. "He likes riding his moped and he usually doesn't pack much, which makes it fine for him to use it."

"I see."

Lance decided to hold his tongue as he tilted his head down. On the one hand, he was glad Keith wasn't riding with them. It would have made the truck more crowded. On the other hand, he didn't want the poor sap to travel alone. Lance didn't know how Keith, or anyone, could handle travelling solo. It wasn't as if this was a trip to the mall or anything. It was a good distance away from the city and trips like these were best when travelling with friends. Well, moreso when your friends aren't annoying little shits that decide to sit behind you and not let you relax. 

Lance plugged in an aux cord to his phone and started playing some music from his phone. The first song he chose definitely got the attention of Hunk and Pidge, who sang along with him. Their heads bopped along to the beat. Lance took a glance at the rear view mirror to see Shiro smiling at them. He made a mental note to ask Shiro if demons had any good taste in music.

 

They entered the gas station, where Keith's moped was already parked in front of the convenience store. As they all got out the car for a good stretch, Keith emerged from the side of the store, having come out of the restroom. 

"Dude, how did you get here before us?!" Hunk asked, pointing at the moped. "I didn't see you anywhere on the road!"

Keith shrugged. "I left early, I guess." Keith looked past Hunk to see Shiro and Lance close by Pidge. "Oh, it's you."

"Good to see you, too, Mullet," Lance folded his arms. "What? Are we too weird for you now?"

"Don't start, Lance," Keith rolled his eyes. He picked up his bag from the back of his moped. "Anyway, we should get going if we want a good spot to set up camp."

"We just got here," Pidge pointed out. "I don't know about you, but I'm using a real bathroom before having to squat down behind a tree full of bugs."

She ran past the guys to the side of the building. Hunk hopped in the back of the truck, opening up a small cooler.

"Anyone want a drink?" He waved a can of soda, Keith raising his hand as Hunk tossed it to him. 

Lance took a can for himself and offered one to Shiro who accepted. He had expected Keith to glare at Shiro, not to be giving him judgmental looks. 

"How long are you keeping eyeing me like that?" Lance asked.

"For the rest of your life," Keith sipped on the can. "You're the one who decided to make a stupid deal."

"It is not a stupid deal! Right, Hunk?"

Hunk sipped a little too loudly on his drink, not answering Lance's question. Lance looked up at him, mouth agape. 

"Way to back up your best friend, buddy," Lance sulked as he finished the rest of his can.

Pidge came back from her trip to the bathroom, ready to go to the campgrounds. Hunk and Lance helped Keith put his moped in the back before all of them huddled in. Keith took over the window seat, leaving Pidge in the middle and Shiro with the other window seat and behind Lance. He gave Lance a wink, making him blush as Lance buckled his seat belt in. He looked out to see a flock of birds forming a v-formation in the direction of the forest. He guessed they weren't the only ones looking forward to camping.

 

They arrived at the grounds twenty minutes later. The parking lot was a bit filled, but there were a few spots available for Hunk to choose to park. The truck was parked facing the street outside, its back to the green that was the Olkari Forest. They each grabbed their bags, with Shiro and Hunk carrying the coolers and tents. Lance stood in the middle of the lot, taking a whiff of the air.

"Ah, the great outdoors," Lance stood in triumph. "Isn't this amazing?"

"For research, sure. But for humans to be here willingly and for fun? Bah!" Pidge's boots crunched the earth underneath her, moving ahead of Lance with everyone else doing the same.

They found several lots with tents set up. There were trails that went into the forest and families and couples playing along the way. Lance spotted at least one person with binoculars staring at a bird before writing something down in a notebook. Probably a nerd like Pidge. It was a surprise to not see any investigators in the area. Lance was sure even novice vloggers would have come here to film something spooky. He checked his phone, going on Twitter to find that a lot of his supernatural themed idols were tweeting about the motel that they opted not to go too. He didn't know why that place was currently becoming popular, but he didn't have time to find out more as his internet slowed down and the signal became weaker. He put his phone away in defeat, but also relief at the fact that they wouldn't have to worry about any rival mystery gangs.

They picked a spot that was a good distance away from other tents, but still close enough to the forest for them to do their investigation. The gang put their tents up, Shiro offering to help Keith with his.

"Hey, you're sleeping with me," Lance pouted. "You should help me set up."

"Yeah, but Keith's gonna be all alone in his tent. Might as well give him a hand."

"I don't need help, thanks," Keith took the parts of his tent out. 

"Are you sure?" Shiro crouched next to him. "I could help you get done faster."

Lance put his foot between Shiro and Keith.

"Oh no. You are not using your demon powers to help Keith!"

"Who said I needed my powers to do the job?" Shiro gave Lance a sly smile. "I've set tents up before. And have had experience sleeping in the wilderness. I think I know a thing or two about setting up camp."

"Shouldn't be surprised. You've probably been summoned in forests before," Keith examined the tools in his hands.

"Yes, that's true," Shiro grabbed a nail from Keith, handing him another, sturdier one. "But I've also been in forests both in Hell and Earth."

Keith nodded as he hammered the nail down. Lance huffed, sitting down on one of the logs with rope running along it behind the tents. 

"Lance, catch," Shiro tossed a nail to Lance, which he barely caught. He looked at his demon boyfriend in confusion. "Help us out. If you do, I'll do the entirety of our tent."

Lance got in his knees and hammered the nail down. He wasn't doing it because he wanted to. He was doing it so he wouldn't have to set up his own tent. And he guessed he could show Keith how it's really done. He looked over his shoulders to see Pidge and Hunk working in synch, which was kind of creepy with how in tune they were. 

They managed to tie the tent down before getting it up. It was in the middle of this when the group heard the voice of a young man approach their area.

"'Sup, losers."

Lance looked over his shoulder, dropping his piece of the tent as he walked over to an old friend and classmate he hadn't seen in a while. The young man had short, brown combed hair and a prideful smile. The two grabbed hands, shaking them.

"James, my man, it's been forever!" Lance greeted. 

Hunk stopped what he was doing too, walking right up behind James.

"It has been," Hunk gripped his hand. "What have you been up to?"

James shrugged. "Oh not much. Except being a member of the Garrison program."

"YOU GOT INTO THE GARRISON?!"

James stood tall and proud. "Yeah. Pretty easy when you do all the work."

Lance felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, making him jump.

"Lance, you abandoned your post," Shiro scolded. "You know Kei-"

"I'll get back," Lance quickly cut Shiro off. He took a quick look at the mullet head, who wasn't giving any attention to James. While he and Hunk had gotten along fine with James, Keith had his own problems with the guy. Not that Lance could blame him, but the two just weren't compatible. That's it.

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Shiro," Shiro introduced himself. "Lance's boyfriend."

"So you're Lance's secret boyfriend," a female voice spoke out.

The voice came from a dark-skinned, glasses wearing woman with her hair in a ponytail who was accompanied by a darker-skinned, muscular man with a serious face and a pale skinned blonde young lady. 

"Nadia, you guys done already?" James asked. 

"Of course," Nadia put her hand on her muscular friend's shoulder.

"Done with what? Setting up your tent?" Hunk questioned.

"Filming," the stoic looking boy replied, lifting up a small camera in his hand.

"Ryan's working on a short film and we wanted to be stars," Nadia stretched her arms and legs out, making a star form. "Isn't that right, Ina?"

"Huh?" Ina blinked.

Nadia slumped her head and shoulders.

"Well, nice catching up with you," James raised his hand. "Catch you guys later."

"See ya, James," Lance and Hunk waved back until James and his crew were out a fair distance away.

Lance was about to get back to helping Keith when he saw Keith's tent was already complete.

"Uh...Keith?"

"Finished while you guys were distracted," Keith's voice came from inside the tent.

Shiro gave Lance a concerned look, to which Lance whispered softly that he'd explain later.

 

After the tents were done, the gang walked down one of the trails to figure out the best areas to inspect for the monster in the Olkari Forest. They trekked through slopes and walked by the streams of water that ran through the forest. Pidge kept slapping her hands across various parts of her skin, complaining about how the sticky bug repellent she sprayed on herself was doing jack shit. She complained to Hunk to hand her some kind of toxic spray so that she can spray it at all the mosquitoes that were aiming at her, but Hunk told her she would not be harming the environment in such a way. Lance could sympathize with the girl, considering how tempting it was for him to scratch his ankles. At least he was temporarily distracted from the itching as he got a laugh out of Hunk screaming and hiding behind Pidge when a rabbit came hopping along, only for the small creature to retreat into its hole. Lance's laugh didn't last when he heard something snap behind him and yelled that a forest monster was nearby. He was completely taken aback when it turned out to have been Keith, who had stepped on a branch as he put his hand on one of the trees, staring up at the leaves that overhung them.

When probed as to what caught his interest, Keith pointed to a flock of birds that were on the branches.

"Congratulations. You just discovered birds live in trees," Lance mocked.

"No, look," Keith pointed again. Lance and everyone else paid closer attention to the birds. All varied in size and had varying degrees of browns, yellows, greys, and black. And they were all huddled together, their collective gaze in a trance. Hunk pushed Pidge behind him, Pidge holding on to his hand. More birds flew over to the branches, feathers falling down alongside the leaves. Lance turned his camera on, zooming in on the birds' faces.

"This is freaky," Lance zoomed out, trying to keep a steady arm so that the camera wouldn't shake. He shifted the sole of his foot, keeping it together to get the shot. He had the camera follow along the rest of the trees, all in similar states of birds gathering around. Some sat comfortably in their nests while others seemed to be prepping for an attack of some sort.

He didn't expect the newfound mystery of the Olkari Forest to be birds. He thought it would have been a wolf or Big Foot. Or a wolf. But it was creepier with the birds. They weren't attacking anyone as far as they knew, and yet there had to be a reason for them to be so close. They must be working together to achieve a common goal. He thought about one of the sayings Pidge would quote, "the enemy of my enemy is also my friend." Something like that. Were birds territorial? Some of them had to be. Or at least cruel. Especially the cuckoo. 

These birds were staring off into something. Lance pulled the camera away from his eye for a bit, allowing himself to shake his head without affecting the film. This was crazy. They were just becoming bird watchers. They had to be dumb birds, right? He looked to Shiro for assurance. 

And Shiro's head faced up, eyes narrowed. There was a dark glow to his eyes. A tiny, fleeting shadow escaped the corner of his eye. 

"Shiro?" Lance lowered his camera to chest level, turning to him.

Shiro blinked, giving Lance a side glance, the shadow still present.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, something's up."

"There is?!" Hunk screeched out, accidentally stumbling back and hitting himself against the tree Keith was in front of, causing the birds to flutter off. 

Keith scolded Hunk while Lance quickly picked his camera back up to film the birds flying off. Most of them moved on to other trees, still on alert in the same direction as the others. 

"What's going on?" Pidge asked. 

Lance took a quick peek to see Shiro close his eyes and open them to make them more human again. 

"I can't say for certain. But we won't find your answers right now. We should return tonight."

Lance froze. Hunk spoke for him, repeating the word "tonight" in a questioning, nervous tone. 

"You won't be forced into doing something you don't want to," Shiro spoke in a reassuring voice. "As long as none of us are alone, we can do as we please. And the same extends to you, Lance."

Lance gulped. He quickly shut his camera off. 

"Uh, you didn't have to address me specifically," Lance placed his camera back in his carry-on bag. "I am _so_ not afraid."

Everyone gave him a questioning look. 

"Mostly." He faked a cough. "Look, it was all of our ideas to come here-"

"I wasn't here when you guys chose to come to the Olkari Forest," Keith interrupted.

Lance groaned. "We all _willingly_ came here for a reason. And that reason was to find a monster, whatever it may be. And I'm not backing down on that."

Pidge wrapped herself around Hunk's arm, tugging at him until he looked at her and the two exchanged determined glances. Keith shrugged, Lance knowing that was his way of agreeing with everything so far. And Shiro smiled at him, holding his hand out to him.

"Then, we should head back for now. We'll take a quick rest at the camp and return at midnight."

"Does it have to be midnight specifically?" Hunk asked, not in fear, but in doubt.

"Would you rather we go when everyone else is awake?"

"Midnight it is," Hunk crouched down as he let Pidge ride him on their way back to the camp.

Lance gave Shiro pleading eyes, which turned angry when Shiro immediately said _no_.

* * *

The campers that were awake were far too drunk and giddy (and possibly horny) to pay attention to the group that re-entered the forest. Hunk and Pidge linked their hands together, with Pidge holding the flashlight and taking the lead of the two. They were right behind Keith, who kept his hands close to his pants that contained a pocket knife or something. Lance was behind Shiro, camera out and night vision on, facing it forward, but making sure Shiro wasn't in the shot. He could film Shiro from behind at a later time. This was serious.

An owl hooted, and Lance had to hold in a scream. When a raven squawked, he breathed through his mouth. He was shaking the camera. He mentally cursed himself for ruining the shot. Then again, an audience loves a protagonist in danger. Maybe he could play that up to his advantage.

"Guys." Pidge pointed the flashlight to a trail of feathers. 

They changed direction. Lance picked up a feather, bringing it to the front of his lenses, practically touching the two, for a closer look. They were a dark brown, closer to black, and covered in spots of gold. The night vision lenses couldn't pick this up, but the flashlight revealed a red glint to the feather. To all of the feathers. Lance breathed heavier at the revelation.

Keith picked the feather from his fingers.

"This doesn't look like blood," he confirmed. "But we should follow this trail to prevent that from happening."

The group moved forward. The feathers increased in quantity and size. At one point, Pidge stopped, moving her foot along the ground. She inspected the dirt underneath her, revealing bird foot tracks. What shocked the group was just how big those tracks were. They were over two feet long. Lance didn't want to think about the size of its beak, especially if that beak would be used to eat them.

He freaked himself out further with those thoughts. What was scaring him more, though, was the change Shiro was going through.

Shiro didn't acknowledge the world around him, his head low and his breathing even as his body morphed. The rest of the group watched in awe, Pidge's light doing nothing to disturb Shiro's transformation. 

Shiro grew bigger, bigger than Lance has ever seen him become. His antlers emerged behind his ears, his tail swinging out. His human legs became the fur-covered hoof legs, his ears becoming sharp. His nails grew until they shaped themselves into terrifying, piercing claws that became a part of his fingers. His forearms and neck up to his ears were covered in scales with fur covering his chest area. His face became more pronounced, as his jaw grew wider, with fangs practically popping out of his face. His eyes became golden, although the shadow, which had a purple highlight now, returned as it fluttered past the corners. No, they were not shadows. They were flames. 

The demon easily loomed over all four of them. Even if they got on each other's shoulders, he'd still have a significant height advantage over them. 

Shiro said nothing as he screeched and ran alongside the trail of feather, moving his forearms forward so that he was travelling on all fours. 

Lance ran ahead of his friends, all of them calling out and following Shiro. 

"What was that about?" Hunk asked.

"Has he done that before?" Keith added.

"Where is he going?" Pidge tried to sprint next to Lance.

"I don't know, guys," Lance tried to pick up his pace. "This is a first for me, too. But whatever it is, it must be serious."

He didn't know what this was about, but Lance knew he wasn't gonna let Shiro face whatever it was all by himself. It was their idea to come here, not his. And even if a demon protecting his client was part of the deal, he didn't want Shiro to get hurt. Not that he doubted Shiro's strength, but none of them knew what was going on. 

They finally caught up to the demon, who was on two feet again. He swept his hooves on the ground, giving a warning huff to whatever was out there. Lance had barely got a sound out when Shiro raised an arm. They stayed silent, until they heard something cranking on the trees. Lance aimed his camera high, trying to figure out what it was. He wouldn't need to wait much longer when Pidge aimed the camera to the side, revealing something beyond what Lance ever imagined.

It was bird monster all right. But maybe more than that. He had a pair of narrow wings that were larger than his body, which was already saying something because even from their point of view, it was clear this guy had to be close to Shiro's height which was saying something already. He had talons for hands and feet, feathers covering his arms and legs. Lance had tried to do a close up of his face, but that was near impossible when the monster jumped up and shot down, his wings beating against the air. 

Lance did get that close up when the beast was only a few feet away from them and let out an ear-piercing squawk. Lance could see he had brown skin with lighter brown hair. His eyes had an orange glow to them, glaring down at Lance and his friends. 

Shiro roared as he jumped in front of everyone, using his tail to push Lance further away.

Lance was ready to yell out for Shiro when Shiro straightened himself up. The bird monster changed his body from being forward to having his wings take the forefront and inching closer to enclose his body. The quad took easy steps to get back in the scene.

"S-shiro?" Lance tried to get the demon's attention.

"Adam?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm sorry I didn't get this chapter out sooner. I know I said updates were going to be more unpredictable, but I thought I'd have written this already. I did want to have at least one chapter released this month, so I hope this was worth the wait.


	12. Shiro's Insecurities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang meet another demon who just so happens to be a certain someone's ex.

Lance was confused. Who the heck was Adam? The bird monster held his head up high, his wings now folded. Lance couldn't help but hold his camera in a position where he could capture the monster's full body. 

"Takashi," the feathery creature responded, his tone sounding both conserved and prideful. 

"Anyone wanna tell me what's going on?" Lance voiced louder.

Adam gave Lance a terrifying hiss, nearly making Lance drop his camera as he hid behind Shiro. Shiro put a hand over Lance's head, his thumb caressing the human's forehead. 

"An old flame," Shiro answered. 

Adam scoffed. 

"Is that really the best way to describe your ex-boyfriend?"

Lance dropped his camera. _This_ was Shiro's ex? He supposed it should have been obvious, but did it have to be this guy? He was the one that was causing all kinds of disturbances in the forest. And if's he a demon, too, then shouldn't he be bound to a human? Before Lance could ask his questions, his camera was levitated off the dirt. Unfortunately, it wasn't by Shiro.

"Excuse me, but I never agreed to be recorded." Adam raised his arm out.

"DON'T!" Lance shouted, jumping up to hold his camera close to his chest. "I'll turn it off, just don't break it!"

Adam clicked his tongue as Lance quickly turned it off and put the camera away safely. Adam closed his eyes, his body shifting down and his feathers molting and drifting down on the dirt and leaves. His wings were retracted back and a pair of glasses appeared on his face. A beige jacket and white shirt with covered his torso with a pair of black pants covering his legs. He nodded his head to Shiro.

"Well?"

Shiro sighed, shrinking down himself and turning into his human appearance.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Hunk asked. 

"Yeah, is this a guy a threat or something?" Keith moved forward, ready to attack.

"If I were a threat, I wouldn't have taken a form to your liking." Adam dusted off a feather on his sleeve. 

Lance wasn't sure whether or not to trust this guy. He went for Shiro's hand, but Shiro moved too fast, making a step forward. 

"What brings you here?" Shiro asked. "Last I heard, you're not currently in contract with a human."

"And are you supposed to be in contract with a cult?" 

"We are not a cult!" Lance clenched a fist. 

Adam shrugged, not paying attention to Lance.

"I was sent here to check on a portal. I hadn't realized how populated with humans this forest was nor was I aware of how popular it was."

"You haven't been killing humans, have you?" Pidge tried to move forward, but was pulled back by Hunk.

Adam eyed her up and down. Lance moved closer to her, not wanting her to get hurt in case he jumped at her.

"No."

"Maybe not, but I don't know if you haven't hurt them either," Shiro crossed his arms, his face growing stern.

"Oh please. I've avoided sight from them until tonight. It would be a waste of potential clients if any of them saw me in my true form."

"True form?" Lance picked up one of the feathers. "Your true form is a giant bird?"

Adam shrieked at Lance, making him jump back.

"I don't need to explain myself to you."

"Don't talk to him like that," Shiro warned.

Adam chuckled. "Is this the human that contracted you?" Adam's expression changed from annoyance to mild amusement as a grin formed. "That explains where such a stupid deal came from."

"Stupid deal? My deal with Shiro is NOT stupid!"

"Aw, and so attached to you, too," Adam put a hand on his waist, walking closer to Lance and his friends. 

Shiro stopped him in his tracks.

"Not another step towards him and the others."

Adam let his hand fall from his waist. 

"Really, Takashi? The client I understand, but you really want to protect the other humans, too? You really haven't changed."

Adam shook his head. God, why did Adam have to be such a dick? Lance wasn't sure what Shiro ever saw in this guy. Maybe he was lying about the exes thing because this guy was way too condescending, even towards Shiro who's supposed to be a fellow demon. Lance didn't understand their dynamic, but he could at least see why Shiro broke up with him. This bird demon seriously pissed him off. 

"Well, I've told you what I'm here for. Now you can leave and allow me to perform my job in peace."

Shiro uncrossed his arms. "Fine. But don't you dare go after anyone else, especially in your true form."

"Believe me, I'm working to get this done as soon as possible."

Shiro turned around, grabbing Lance's hand and dragging him away. The others followed suit without another word, though Hunk took a quick look over his shoulders only to immediately regret it when Adam gave him an intimidating stare.

 

They reached the campsite without further issue. They sat around the unlit fireplace, Hunk picking up a blanket from his and Pidge's tent, wrapping it around the two. Keith set up a low fire, one that barely crackled, but was enough to give them light. Shiro kept Lance close to his side, Lance wondering how much of a threat Adam really was for him to be this protective.

"So....that was....something...," Hunk made small glances at Shiro.

Keith sighed in annoyance. 

"Alright, I'm cutting to the chase. Is your ex or whatever planning on unleashing some kind of evil on the world?"

Lance looked up at his demon, whose eyes were on the fire. Shiro grabbed a nearby stick and drew an oval on the dirt. 

"No, he isn't," he drew a stick figure on one side and another with horns on the other. "There are portals that connect Earth and the demon realm. These portals are typically used so that demons who aren't under contract can enter and influence mortals to make decisions that will help us."

"And that's not a plan to bring the end of the world?" Pidge raised an eyebrow.

Shiro made another dirt doodle. There were two horizontal lines. On the top had a halo, in between had a circle, and the bottom had a flame symbol.

"Alright, so whether or not you want to believe this, but evil is necessary to keep this world going. Think of it like a watering a plant," he drew a flower next to the chart, with a simple sun and a droplet. "If you give a plant too much sun, it'll dry up. Too much water and it'll wilt away. Give it enough of both, and it'll live." He pointed the stick back to the chart. "That is what we need to ensure."

The group gave a collective nod. 

"For us to keep this balance, demons must either arrive by summoning or through the portal," he pointed at the oval. "But portals need to have maintenance checks to make sure they're still running. This usually happens when a demon tries to close the portal for fear of someone entering the demon realm."

"Why would a demon be afraid of a human entering the demon realm?" Keith asked.

"Once again: balance. Unless a human is granted permission by a demon to enter the realm, we try to keep things fair. That's really all Adam is doing. Or should be doing."

He let the stick drop. Lance let go of Shiro to take a closer look at the drawings. A balance in the world. Kind of weird to think that evil was necessary. But he knew he wasn't one to talk, considering he was the one who summoned a demon. He hoped that didn't make his friends evil by affiliation.

Shiro stretched his arms above his head.

"That's enough questions for one night-"

"Wait, I have one more!" Pidge raised her hand.

"Fine. Just one. What is it?" Shiro put his arms down.

"When Adam saw Lance's camera, why didn't he just destroy it? It would have gotten rid of any evidence of him being there or demons existing."

"Oh, that. He just said he didn't agree to be recorded. He wasn't trying to destroy evidence of his existence as a demon."

They all gave him a confusing look.

"But, I thought he was pissed that I was trying to prove the existence of demons," Lance scratched his head.

"He was angered that you held a camera up to his face. There's no rule that says a human can't ask to reveal demons to the world."

"There isn't?!"

"Nope."

"B-but then how come you guys haven't confirmed your existence before?"

"No one's asked before," Shiro shrugged. He stood up. "And that was more than one question. I think it's about time we all head to bed."

Shiro stepped into the tent, holding the fold open as he looked back at Lance.

"You coming?"

Lance blinked. "Uh, yeah. In a minute. Just...wanna say goodnight to my friends."

Hunk spoke up. "What? You can say that right-"

"Away, once Shiro gets himself settled in for the night." Lance clasped his hands together, forcing a smile to indicate that there was something more he wanted to talk to them about.

"Oh-oh, yeah," Pidge caught on. "Totally. These good nights take a while."

"Suit yourself. Just don't stay up too late." Shiro let the folds drop. 

Once he went inside, Lance moved over to sit in between Keith and Hunk.

"Alright, so is it just me or was Shiro acting kind of.....weird back there?"

"How would you act around your ex?" Pidge popped her head from underneath Hunk's arm.

"No, not that! Although it's obvious why they're exes," Lance mumbled the last sentence under his breath before speaking at a more audible level. "What I mean is, he was really...out of it." Lance looked at the drawings on the dirt. "Before we agreed to go back, his eyes already went dark. It was as if he knew there was something demon-related here."

"Not surprised," Keith's gaze went on the fire. "He isn't human, so I'm sure he has some kind of tracking sense in his system that allows him to detect other demons."

"So....his demoney senses were tingling?" Hunk grinned like an idiot, making Lance exasperate in annoyance. 

"All I'm saying is that Shiro was acting a bit...," Lance bit his lip. He tried to think of the right word to describe what he noticed in Shiro earlier. "...a bit not his usual self. More...monsterous?'

"Please refer to Shiro being a demon," Pidge said. 

Lance sighed. "Ugh, you guys don't get it." He stood up, stomping to his tent. "I just...think there's something more to it."

His hand lingered on the fold of the tent. He looked at the stick figure with a horn. A simple symbol that undermined the true form of demons. He went in, barely paying attention to the whispering conversations his friends continued to have. 

He turned his phone light on, taking out his small mirror as he applied a single layer of face cream. He was careful not to aim the light directly at Shiro, who was already snoring softly asleep. He looked at Shiro's form in the reflection of the mirror. He wished he had seen Shiro's true form under better circumstances. That he hadn't dragged his own friends into danger. He closed the cap of the cream. What was he thinking? It's not like Adam attacked them because of the contract with Shiro. Although Lance could see Adam being a bitter ex. He placed the mirror aside and turned the light off. 

He had no idea why he was thinking those thoughts. He and Shiro weren't in a real relationship. Yeah, they have sex, but you could have sex with anyone without strings attached. But there were strings. He wiggled inside his sleeping bag. Shiro was only acting like this because of their agreement. Shiro needed to be on edge when it came to him because Lance gave him something in return. This was all just an act. And Shiro had a moment of awe when he realized who was in the forest. Shiro wasn't angry until Adam became threatening. 

Lance's thoughts went to what his own relationship with Shiro would have been like if he was still with Adam. Maybe the same. He couldn't imagine demons being the monogamous type. And then where would that leave Lance?

A heavy arm draped over Lance. He slightly turned, Shiro still sound asleep, yet bringing warmth to him. Shiro must have had a greater hidden power to him. Because once Lance felt Shiro's touch, he fell right asleep. 

* * *

The drive back was pretty uneventful. The group didn't bring Adam up in conversation as Shiro kept his focus on them getting everything packed and ready to go. They made a pit stop at the same gas station for a few snacks. Shiro and Hunk recommended Keith to ride home with them instead of going back on his moped, but Keith declined the offer. He promised to send a message in the group chat when he arrived home safely, giving some peace of mind to the gang. 

The seating arrangements were the same as before, although Shiro didn't seem to mind Pidge sleeping on him. Lance looked at them through the rear view mirror, smiling at how tired Pidge really was. He didn't know what time she fell asleep, but he guessed that she had her eyes glued to her phone for a good portion of the night, seeing as how she didn't even hold her phone while it was charging. He used the opportunity to recline his seat. His eyes were on the ceiling of the truck, wondering how he would bring up how he wants to know more about Shiro's past. 

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt something brush against his cheek. He turned his gaze to a tail caressing him. A tail that he now knew was suppressed in size with the rest of the demon's body. When he looked to Shiro, Shiro gave him a smile, which Lance returned.

"No bedroom eyes in the truck," Hunk scolded.

"Not our fault your girlfriend is asleep."

"No, but it is mine."

Lance's face blushed, Shiro struggling to hold in his laughter as he moved his head away from Pidge and he covered his red-beet face. 

"Ugh, no one asked, Hunk."

Lance moved the seat slightly forward, grabbing a small bag of chips and eating them in annoyed silence.

 

Hunk dropped them off in front of Lance's apartment. Shiro helped get their things down as Lance checked his phone to see that Keith arrived at his own place safely an hour ago. He speculated with Hunk about how fast Keith was, although Shiro tried to alleviate their doubts by pointing out that Keith was riding alone while Hunk needed to make a couple of stops to drop them off. He handed Lance a bag, the two saying their goodbyes to Hunk whilst Pidge continued to sleep. 

When they entered the apartment, Lance slunk down on the couch. 

"Not going to unpack? I hope you don't expect me to do it," Shiro sat on the couch's armrest. 

"Nah. But being in the car does have me feeling exhausted," Lance lifted his legs to stretch them across the seat. He moved himself up a bit to be closer to Shiro's thigh. "Hey, so..."

Lance stopped himself. He sighed and pressed his head on Shiro's leg.

"You either want to ask me about my relationship with Adam or about my true form. Did I guess right?"

Lance slipped his head off of him. Shiro brushed Lance's hair.

"It's okay to be curious. I know last night was pretty intense. I was scared, too."

"You were?" Lance pushed himself up. "Oh, right. You were against another demon. Probably didn't want him stealing my soul when you and I already have a bond."

"I didn't want him hurting you or your friends," Shiro rubbed his thumb under Lance's eye. 

Lance sat up. "Oh. Well, I have questions about both."

"I can answer the ones about my true form. I'm...not ready to talk about Adam."

"Fair enough." Lance drew his face back. "So, that true form of yours. Oh, wait." Lance pulled his camera out, seeing that the battery was close to dying. He opened one of his bags to pull out its charger and connect it to an outlet. He zoomed in on Shiro's face. "Mind showing off that true form of yours here?"

"No," Shiro pushed the camera up. "My true form is far too big for this apartment. Not unless I create a space for us that would allow me to transform without breaking the floor or the ceiling."

"And would you-"

"No."

Lance groaned. "Then what's the point of this?"

"Ask your questions about my true form."

Lance set the camera on the coffee table.

"Alright, so....are demons typically that big?"

"They can be. They can be larger than I. And then there are small demons, too." Shiro patted Lance's leg. Lance moved over to the next cushion to have Shiro sit down. 

"Does it get uncomfortable staying in a particular size? Like, do you feel tight being smaller than your true form?"

"It depends. If I have enough energy, then I can be any size without issue."

"And have you had any issues recently?"

Shiro took a moment of silence. He shifted his body forward. That gave Lance his answer.

"Is that why you've been going to the demon realm lately?"

Shiro placed his hands on his knees. He flexed his fingers, whose nails were growing steadily longer.

"Uh..Shiro?"

"Sky."

"What?"

"Sky!"

Lance blinked. He didn't get why Shiro was using a safe word, especially one that he made clear he wasn't a fan of. But he took that as a sign to turn the camera off. 

"Shiro, you okay?"

Shiro closed his eyes, opening them to reveal frightened eyes. 

"Sorry. I know you wanted to ask me questions. And I planned to. But-"

"Shiro, it's okay," Lance put his hands on the demon's face. "If you don't want to talk about it now, you don't have to. I just...I just want to know you're okay."

"I can't promise you that."

"Why is that?"

Shiro's eyes looked down before locking them on Lance again.

"I don't even know if I'm okay."

Lance didn't expect that. He placed himself against Shiro's chest, wrapping his arms around him. 

"You don't have to be. Just get better. 'Kay?"

Shiro hugged Lance tightly. Lance felt his chest being nearly crushed, but he didn't mind. He gave Shiro gentle pats on the back, nuzzling against the crook of Shiro's neck.

"What do you wanna do?" Lance asked.

Shiro scratched the back of Lance's ear.

"Go out and be in my true form." Shiro took Lance off him before getting off the couch. "I might be a while."

"Can I come?"

Shiro blanched. "You...weren't scared of my true form?"

Lance snorted. "N-no."

Shiro shifted in his more intermediate form, with his hooves, antlers and fangs and Lance jumped.

"Okay, but my fear isn't that big of your true form." He paused. "Uh....not that that's meant to insinuate anything..."

"Lance, you are truly a one of a kind human." He outstretched his hand. "If you're not scared, I'll take you somewhere it'll be safe for me to transform."

Lance took the demon's hand, being pulled into a portal that popped up in the living room. Lance shut his eyes, screaming as they went through the portal. His screams kept on, even as they longer moved.

"Lance!"

 

Lance peeked an eye open, realizing they were in a grass-full field.

"Oh...we're here." He and Shiro's hands were released. "Are you sure you wanna transform out in the open like this?"

"It'll be fine," a darkness spread underneath their feet. A purple barrier surrounded them, Shiro growing in height and going into his true form. 

Lance stepped back, awed by the transformation. But it wasn't scary this time around. Well, not as scary. Even as Shiro looked down on Lance with a much more jagged face, Lance didn't feel so nervous.

"Feel better?"

"A little," Shiro got on all fours, his tail stretching out behind him. He gave a yawn, giving Lance a better view of his fangs. Shiro conjured up a hammock, letting himself rest on it. He peeked down at Lance, using his powers to levitate him towards him.

Lance let out a yelp as he was being lifted, only to relax when he was pressed against Shiro's soft fur. 

"Now I feel much better," Shiro pressed a finger against Lance's ass. 

"Holy shit, you're huge!"

Shiro gave Lance a frown. "Duh."

"Heh, yeah."

Lance eyed Shiro before going in for a kiss. Shiro kept Lance balanced in his grasp, being careful as he kissed him back. Lance knew Shiro could swallow him whole, his lips covering his face. But Lance didn't care. He wanted to be devoured by Shiro. For Shiro to use him. He slid his tongue over Shiro's fangs. 

"Fuck, Lance," Shiro whispered, as their kissing intensified. 

Shiro's tail wrapped itself around Lance's waist, lifting Lance up from his face.

"Maybe we should go back."

"Are you sure?"

Shiro pressed his hands against Lance.

"Yeah."

 

Lance didn't scream when they went through the portal again. He wished they had continued, but Shiro clearly had something on his mind. Shiro took them to Lance's bedroom, going into his human form. He ruffled Lance's hair.

"I'll be going to the demon realm. It won't be long."

"You gonna get some demon toys for us to play with?" Lance smirked.

"No." Shiro poked Lance's forehead. "If everything is unpacked by the time I get back, we can play a little game."

"Fine."

Shiro disappeared from the room. Lance wanted to know what was going on with him. Although he could theorize that Shiro's trips to the demon realm gave him energy. He just didn't know what his demon had to do to get that energy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried putting a reference in here. If you can guess what it is, I'll give you a virtual cookie.


	13. Demons Can't Do Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance realizes he's never seen Shiro cook before.

Lance was playing a mobile game when Shiro asked him what he would like for lunch. Lance shrugged, saying that anything was good, although he wouldn't say no to garlic knots. 

"That's not a proper meal," Shiro scolded.

"Then how about garlic knots and pizza?" Lance replied, his thumb tapping away on his phone as he tried to get past the level he was currently on. 

With the snap of his fingers, Shiro summoned a round pizza with two baskets of garlic knots and the dip to accompany them and a bowl of salad. Lance popped his head over the couch, whistling at Shiro's ability to conjure up a full meal for more what could easily feed four people.

He exited his app, taking a seat at the table as Shiro set a plate in front of him. Lance immediately went for the garlic knot and was blown away by how good it was. He finished one knot before going for the pizza. Shiro smiled as he ate his own plate of food. 

As Lance ate, his eyes went to the kitchen, whose sink was barren of pots and pans. That's when a thought occurred to Lance.

"Hey, Shiro."

"Mm," Shiro responded, mouth full of pizza and salad.

"How come I never see you in the kitchen?"

Shiro swallowed his food.

"I may be your demon, but I'm not-"

"No, no, that's not it," Lance waved his hands. "I mean, I see you summon all this food, but I've never seen you actually make food."

"Oh, that." Shiro's face grew pink as he picked up more salad with his fork. "Well, I just didn't want to use your kitchen in case you were protective over it."

"Shiro, it's fine. You already use the rest of my apartment. I would never ban you from using the kitchen."

Shiro tapped the fork on his plate. Lance was concerned.

"Is something wrong?" Lance's face frowned. "You got bad memories of kitchens?"

"N-no," Shiro stuttered. Stuttered? Shiro rarely stuttered, so this was serious. "I...just haven't...been in one in a...long...long time."

"Then why not try it out right now?"

Shiro grabbed another slice of pizza and a garlic knot.

"And not eat this food I just summoned? Lance, that's just wasteful." He passed a basket to Lance. "Here, keep eating."

"Shiro," Lance took the basket and set it next to his plate, "it's fine. Look, cook something small and I promise I'll eat it."

"Are you sure about that?" Shiro's face grew pinker. "I mean...I can't guarantee that it'll be any good-"

"C'mon, Shiro," Lance got up and picked Shiro up from his seat. "You can make a boiled egg. That's small and easy to make."

"Um....sure, whatever you say."

 

Lance pointed to where the pots were kept and watched as Shiro turned the facet on to put the water in. Shiro looked over his shoulder.

"Uh...would you mind looking away until I'm done?"

"Oh, sure," Lance turned on his heels, sitting back at the table to finish his slice of pizza. 

By the time he was finished eating enough for himself, he checked for any updates from his apps. 

"It's done."

Lance tucked his phone away. 

"Oh. Good." Lance walked back over to the kitchen to see an egg on a plate. 

The egg appeared....unconventional. It had spots of grey for some reason. He picked it up to break the shell, only to find that it was still gooey inside. What came out of the shell was...not an egg. It had yolk like an egg, but Lance knew that was not an egg. The yellow of the yolk was mixed in with grey and green stuff. Lance pinched what came out of it, and it felt like a mix of goo and powder. Lance gulped. He knew this was going to make him sick. But he promised Shiro he'd eat it. Plus, if he ate it, he could prove he had a stronger stomach and taste buds than Keith. He pulled his phone out again, this time holding it out for Shiro.

"What's this for?"

"I want you to record me eating this."

"Why?"

"Uh...to preserve the moment..."

Shiro took the phone, holding it up to Lance's head level. Lance took a deep breath as he brought the substance to his mouth.

 

"LANCE, NO!"

Shiro slapped the phone down, shadow vines coming out of his back and slamming the plate against the wall and sucking up the questionably an egg thing. 

"What the shit, Shiro?" Lance jumped, clutching his chest.

"Lance, I'm sorry, but I am not letting you eat that or any of my cooking."

Shiro sighed, the shadow vines retreating. 

"Look, I....," Shiro's face flushed again. "I...I can't cook."

"You can't what?"

"I can't cook," Shiro said louder. "Every time I try, it never comes out right." He took a look around the kitchen, staring at the broken plate on the floor. "Truth be told, kitchens have been in worse states whenever I cook. It isn't uncommon for me to have to rebuild a new one."

Lance's mouth was agape. 

"Are you serious?"

"Very."

Lance covered his mouth, taking in a deep breath. But he couldn't hold back his laughter. He banged his head over the counter.

"You're telling me you can't cook?!"

"It's not funny, Lance. You could have died!"

Lance laughed even louder, much to Shiro's displeasure.

"I can't believe it. And here I thought you were this all-powerful demon who was perfect at everything."

"I'm still a powerful demon," Shiro argued.

"Not powerful enough to make a sandwich, though."

Lance continued to laugh as Shiro stomped away from the kitchen. He opened up a portal in the corner of the kitchen.

"Wait, wait. Where are you going?"

"To the demon realm. Where no annoying humans can make fun of me."

"Shiro, c'mon. You tease me all the time."

"Well, I..." Shiro didn't finish his sentence. He turned his back on Lance.

"Wait, Shiro. It's cool," Lance turned Shiro around to face him. "It really makes me feel a little less intimidated by you to know you have flaws, too."

"It does?" Shiro looked surprise.

"Yeah. I mean, being perfect would be nice, but I like you better knowing you're not perfect, you know?"

Shiro shook his head.

"You are a strange human indeed."

"Too bad you're stuck with me."

Shiro put his hand on Lance's cheek. 

"It's not so bad. Not with a human as interesting as you."

Lance nuzzled against his palm. 

"So, is it easy for you to torture souls?"

"Where did that question come from?"

"I just assumed all you'd need to do is cook and your job is done."

Shiro dropped his hand from Lance's touch. His eyes narrowed and he blinked slowly before turning back and going through the portal.

Lance shrugged, believing it was worth a try. But he made a note to ask that question again in the future. 


	14. Line Between Dream and Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance has been curious about what Shiro's been up to. It seems like the only way he'll find out is if he dreams about it.

Hunk's apartment wasn't far from the Coalition building. Checking the time on his radio, Hunk had likely gotten off work himself. He parked on the side of the street and walked to the first floor. He saw Hunk's truck in the parking garage, feeling relieved that he would be home. He knew he should have probably given him a heads up text before coming, but they were best friends and it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Lance knocked on the door.

After waiting a few seconds for a response, he knocked again, louder.

"IN A MINUTE!" Hunk yelled from inside. 

Lance was about to check his phone when the door swung open. Hunk looked worn out, his hair sticking up and his shirt on backwards. His zipper was undone and he had no shoes or socks on.

"Uh..hey, Lance. What's up?"

Lance blinked. 

"...am I interrupted something?"

"No-"

"Yes," Pidge's voice echoed.

Lance blinked.

"Should I leave?"

"No, stay," Pidge answered before Hunk could. She came walking to the threshold, putting herself under Hunk's arm. Her legs were bare and she wore one of Hunk's shirts, which was much too big for her and would have fit her like a dress had it been made for her figure. "You can make it up to us by giving Shiro these questions." 

She held up a paper in front of him which Lance only stared down at her hand. She rolled her eyes.

"My hands are clean."

Lance picked up the paper and folded it to fit in his pocket. 

"Mostly."

Lance and Hunk's eyes widened.

"Pidge!" Hunk moved out of the way and Lance followed them inside.

 

Hunk's apartment was definitely more homey than Lance's. It may have been part due to Hunk building some of his own furniture such as the shelves and chairs. But there were also hand-crafted bowls and ceramics that were seen on every surface. There was a corner of the living room that had a miniature tool storage, with personal projects underneath the working desk. At the very least Lance was relieved to see that there weren't any dirty clothes to be seen. 

Pidge sat with her feet on a seat as Hunk opened the refrigerator to take out a can of iced tea. 

"Something wrong?" Hunk passed the can Lance's way.

Lance accepted the can and opened the lid.

"Mm...more like I need advice on something."

"If you want him to do paperwork, he charges a fee," Pidge tapped her knees together.

"No, that's not what I'm here for. Yet," Lance sipped his drink. "It's relationship advice."

Pidge gave a sly grin.

"Oh, having problems with your demon I see. Are you jealous of his ex we found in the Olkari Forest?"

"Not funny, Pidge."

"I'm just saying. I never thought demons would have romance drama like humans."

"And when have you been interested in romance drama?"

"Since it involves two powerful demons that could potentially end all life. Don't worry, I'm on Shiro's side if it comes down to which demon to follow in the upcoming war on Earth."

Hunk opened one of his cabinets and took out a package of peanut butter cookies. He presented them to Pidge, whose eyes gleamed and she happily stuffed her face.

"Alright, so what's going on with you and Shiro?" Hunk leaned on the counter.

"Well...have you or Pidge kept secrets from each other?"

"Mmm....Pidge has tried, but I always find out."

"You mean you always snoop," Pidge spoke with her mouth full. She swallowed the cookie in her mouth and grabbed another one.

"Hey, I only snoop when it comes to your health!"

"I am a perfectly healthy woman!"

"You spend one too many nights staying up to play video games! That is not healthy!"

"It's my life. I do what I want!"

"Guys!" Lance slammed his can on the counter. "Can we focus on the real issue at hand?"

"Sorry," the two looked away from each other, Pidge stuffing another cookie in her face.

"Look, I'm just...concerned about Shiro. He's been going to the demon realm more often than usual. I have no idea if it has anything to do with our bond or our relationship." Lance traced his finger over the rim of the can. "I don't know what he does there or why he's going so much. I know he has to answer my questions related to that place eventually, but what if he decides to wait until I'm forty or a hundred?"

Hunk and Pidge shared a concerned look. Pidge pushed the package away from her. 

 

"I don't know what Shiro does in the demon realm, but I can tell one thing: he's not ready." Pidge's eyes shifted down.

"Not ready?" Lance asked.

"Not everyone is ready to talk about certain parts of themselves," Hunk walked behind the counter. "And it can longer for some people until they're ready," he placed a hand over Pidge's shoulder. He looked back at Lance. "I know you're concerned, and you have every right to feel that way. Just remember that you need to be supportive of Shiro's choice. I mean, unless it turns out he's cheating on you-"

"Hunk!" Pidge elbowed him. She held his hand. "I seriously doubt Shiro's the type to cheat. He's way too much of a goody two-shoes for a demon."

"Yeah, you got that right." Lance gave them a small smile. "Thanks you guys."

Hunk moved his arm around her, pulling her close to him. Lance checked the time on his phone.

"Guess I should be going."

"You don't have to-"

"You can come by tomorrow," Pidge interrupted, hopping off the chair and pulling Lance away.

Lance waved goodbye as he stepped over the threshold, Hunk waving back until he was pulled back in by Pidge with the door shutting in front of them. He chuckled to himself as he walked back to his car. He had to admit, he never pegged Pidge to be the nymph type, but he wasn't surprised especially when Hunk is her boyfriend.

 

It wasn't late when he returned home, which made it all the more surprising when he found Shiro sleeping on the bed. He wasn't in his true form, but there was something different about the half form. He was bigger, needing to curl into a ball to fit on the bed. The hooves and antlers were nothing new, but he noticed there were small scales running along his neck and small patches of fur on his arms. Lance took out a blanket from the closet and placed it over Shiro. He closed the bedroom door and spent the rest of the evening in the living room, playing a game until he grew bored and browsed through his phone.

* * *

Lance must have fallen asleep, but he couldn't recall when. He couldn't recall if he fell asleep in the living room or if he went back in his bedroom at some point. Whatever the result, he was in his bed and he could see the silhouette of Shiro standing on the other side, his tail moving around. He could hear a swirl in the corner of the room and Shiro making his way to it. 

He must have been dreaming. He had to remind himself that whatever business Shiro had was nothing for him to be prying about. That in due time Shiro would explain everything.

Of course, if this was a dream, that meant Lance didn't have to hold back in following Shiro through that portal. He waited until Shiro had his back turned before he quietly slipped off the bed. He followed the demon's footsteps, imagining what would happen next. It was total darkness when he entered the portal. He looked around, scared that this dream was turning into a nightmare. But the footsteps echoed. 

Lance continued to follow them and then suddenly he was somewhere new. The floor was black and white granite, with violet lights hanging on the walls. He was in the middle of a hallway, with arches along both sides. Lance realized he was still in his normal clothes and felt his phone in his pocket. He took it out and started recording. He never realized how creative his imagination was. The ceiling looked like something out of the Sistine chapel, except the paintings were in a more traditional Japanese art style. It had mountains and clouds mixed in with demons. There was one depiction of a lion and a deer and in front of them was a mixture of both. Lion deer? Lance was officially weirded out by his mind. 

As he walked, he started to hear noises. He couldn't make out if they were gasps or moans, but they definitely sounded like people. He rushed to find the source, finding an open door. The room retained the same purple as the halls, with the exception of red glows that were covered by black curtains. Lance took a careful look around for anyone else before going in. He kept himself silent, even if he knew he didn't have to. This was a dream. If things got bad, he could always wake up.

The phone was held up as his hand took a hold of the curtain. His arm shook and chills shivered down his spine.

"C'mon, Lance. Pull yourself together. This is all a dream. Who knows? Maybe these are just overgrown nightlights. Oh! Maybe these are hearts that'll give me extra lives!"

He took a deep breath and pulled the curtain back.

 

He nearly dropped his phone and covered his mouth to muffle his scream. It was a ghost whose eyes lacked life. An older lanky man with a ruffled mustache. And next to him were other ghosts who all had clothing that came from different countries, different time periods. The same lifeless eyes. A ghost of a woman of Asian decent approached Lance.

"Oh, you must be the Master's newest client."

"Client?" Lance held his phone up.

"Who else would you be?" the man he first discovered spoke. "Humans aren't typically allowed in these parts."

"Who are all of you? Who's your master?"

The woman tilted her head.

"Isn't it obvious? He wasn't always _our_ master. We used to be _his_. Of course, we had to give him something in exchange."

A ghost that looked to be about Lance's age spoke up with more personality to their voice.

"So what did you give him? Your soul? A part of your lifespan? We already know about the stupid deal you made with him, but he refuses to tell us what you had to pay."

"Stupid deal?" Lance looked at the ghost of ambiguous gender in offense. "My deal is not stupid it's perfectly reasonable. And anyway, I don't see why Shiro wouldn't tell you, considering this is all a dream and I say dream Shiro should be honest."

The ghosts glanced at one another.

"What?"

"You should leave," the woman advised. "We can help you find a way out, but we must do so quickly before he comes back."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you came here without the Master's knowledge, then that means he doesn't want you to see him feeding," the man said.

"Feeding?"

Before more clarification could be given, a loud thud came from another door in the room. It was slightly ajar to Lance's luck and he ignored the protests of the ghosts. He put his phone up to the crack. Sure enough, Shiro was standing. Except he was in his true form. The ceiling was raised high enough that it wasn't an issue for Shiro to stand in his full height. He picked up a ghost in his claw and pressed them against the wall. The ghost didn't struggle. A blue aura surrounded their form and they stood limply as Shiro's jaw opened wide. He went in for the face and a gold aura highlighted his body as he ate. He picked the ghost up the wall and the ghost's human form dissipated as Shiro covered the soul with two claws and munched on them. Appearance wise, it looked like he was eating thin air. However, crunches and chewing were heard with every bite. Lance zoomed in on Shiro's face. He dropped his phone when he saw a glowing blue substance trickle down his mouth.

Shiro's eyes widened. He let the soul float out of his hands as he turned his head. Lance made a run for it before he could see Shiro do anything else.

"Wait!" Another ghost's voice called out, although Lance wasn't sure who it was from and he didn't care. He pushed himself out of the room and ran down the hall, keeping himself in the shadows.

This wasn't a dream. He really did follow Shiro out here when he knew Shiro wasn't ready to show him this yet. He hated himself for coming here. And  he hated himself for the fear that was pumping through his body as all he could think about now was that Shiro would surely kill him. And if he didn't kill him, then he'd make the next two hundred years a living hell. 

Lance tried to find the portal back, but it wasn't there. He got on his knees, frantically putting his hands all over the floor. 

"Lance!"

Lance froze up.

He knew he was here.

He backed himself into a shadow and stood up. He hugged the wall and shut his eyes. Maybe this was a bad dream. Maybe he was letting his fears get the better of him. It was with closed eyes that he walked forward and slipped on something that caused him to truly blackout.


	15. An Explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance feels a heavy weight on his heart after what he witnessed.

Lance tossed and turned, feeling something heavy over him. He blinked slowly, turning his head. He was back in his room, with a thick blanket covering him. His phone was on the nightstand. He crawled over the bed and brought it close to him, seeing that there was a message from Shiro.

_I need some time to myself. We'll talk as soon as I'm ready._

Lance locked his phone and hung his head down. He knew better that what he saw last night wasn't a dream. He slammed his palms against his head. 

Why did he have to be such a dick and do that? He knew Shiro wasn't ready to tell him. And he went and followed him anyway. He didn't even know if it was safe to go through that portal. For all he knew, that portal could kill humans. And he still went through it. He was lucky he didn't end up like those ghosts. 

Lance laid back down and stared at the ceiling. A tear escaped his eye. Why was he getting so emotional over this? He had a deal with Shiro and technically this was a part of it. Sure, it was reckless to go through the portal, but it wasn't wrong. That was part of the deal. To film Shiro and his demon business. And yet, guilt shadowed over him. And worse than that, he felt his heart ache knowing Shiro was upset with him. He could order Shiro to stop being upset and pretend like the night never happened. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't. 

He turned his head over, taking a deep breath.

And then his alarm rang.

Lance jumped, screamed, and fell off the bed. He picked up his phone and groaned. He forgot he had a shift today. He forced himself to get up and dressed. He washed his face, only feeling more disappointed in himself as he stared back at his reflection. He took a deep breath. If he had survived middle school and high school, he could get through the day with his relationship issues. He just needed to put himself in that head space that he was still the goofy, laid back secretary of the Coalition. His co-workers expected to see him with either a smile on his face or a look of boredom. He could scroll through his phone if he didn't want to work. Rachel would respond to him if he messaged her. She never gave him shit about messaging while on the job. Yeah, that would be nice.

Lance picked his keys up from the kitchen counter, looking back at the apartment one last time before heading out and locking the door. 

 

Two hours into his shift and Lance felt ready to leave. 

He kept his chin on his hand as he scrolled through appointments and who to call when to remind them of said appointments. Every time he picked up the phone to dial another client, his voice was hoarse and he had to repeat himself more than once to clarify what he's calling for. Even scrolling through his phone wasn't enough to keep him focused. He banged his head on the keyboard. 

"Mr. Mendez!"

Lance jolted up. 

"I wasn't sleeping, I swear!"

Director Slav scratched his chin as he looked at Lance. He poked his head and picked his arm up.

"Hmm.....you're not quite yourself today, are you, Lance?"

"Uh...sorry, sir," Lance pulled his arm away. "I, uh...had a crazy night last night."

Director Slav squinted at him.

"Mmm.....Mr. Mendez, you are aware you have paid sick time, do you not?"

"Y-yes, sir."

The director leaned on the counter of the desk.

"Take the rest of the day off, Lance. If I have you work while you are feeling unwell, not only would that be unethical, but it would raise the chance of something terrible happening by 44%."

"Um, thank you, sir." Lance logged off the computer and picked up his things. 

"Do you need someone to drive you home?"

"Oh, no, I'm good."

"Are you sure? I would not want you driving while you are in such a sickly state."

Okay, Lance was not sickly. But that didn't stop him from glancing at himself at the nearest reflective surface to make sure he didn't look pale. 

"I'm fine. I promise."

"I'll have security watch you." 

Lance nodded and went to clock himself out. Before he could reach the machine, there was a tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me," a feminine voice spoke from behind him.

Lance jumped a bit, but felt relieved when he saw that it was a young woman around his age. He had never seen her before. She had long, fluffy dark brown hair and wore a short, pink dress with a white overcoat. She was beautiful to say the least.

"H-how can I help you?" 

"Do you by any chance know where Professor Holt's office is?"

If he didn't know, he'd be embarrassed. Pidge didn't come to the Coalition building often, but when she did, she always headed straight to her father's lab or office. She liked to bring her father's experiments to the front lobby to distract him from his job. And then Lance had to bring it back because lord knows she wouldn't do it.

"Yeah, it's just down the West Hall," Lance pointed.

The woman clapped her hands together.

"Thank you." She spun around. "Coran, it's right over there."

"Ah, I knew that!" said a man with bright orange hair and a prominent mustache. The two walked off in the direction of the West Hall. Lance couldn't put together why, but he had a strange feeling from the pair. They looked normal, though, so he might have been imagining it. 

 

As he headed to the parking lot, he got a message from Keith. He raised an eyebrow. Keith hadn't messaged him since the day he ruined his good shoes.

_You busy?_

Lance typed away.

_Not anymore. Just got off work._  

Lance opened the door to his car, still staring at the screen.

_Meet me at Deckpin._

Lance wasn't sure why Keith asked to meet him at a park, but he responded.

_On my way._

 

Joggers kept up their pace along the sidewalks. There was a family with very young children playing at the playground, guiding them down the slide. Lance spotted Keith sitting at a bench that looked out a pond in the park. Keith's moped was parked beside him. Lance walked over and took a seat next to him.

"Yo," Lance raised his hand. "'Sup?"

"Oh, you actually came," Keith commented.

"You asked me, didn't you?"

"Yeah..." Keith faced the pond. He scratched the back of his neck. "Uh...listen, I'm not good at this sort of thing. But I think it's important that we talk..."

Lance looked at him in confusion. "Uh...okay?"

Keith breathed out. "Look, I....I know you don't think the best of me, but I want to try and be a better person for you. So...." He shifted his eyes.

Lance gasped. He did not need to know this. It was bad enough he was in a bad patch with Shiro, but now Keith was going to make things awkward. Lance needed to let him down gently. He deserved that much.

"Hey, Keith, I get it."

"You do?" 

"Yeah and I'm flattered."

"....flattered?"

Lance nodded. "And look, maybe I've been a bit harsh on you, too. But I can only see you as a friend-"

"What are you talking about?"

Lance blinked. "You mean you aren't confessing?"

"......," Keith took a deep breath. He gave a small punch to Lance's shoulder.

"Ouch."

"Don't be a baby," Keith closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked directly at Lance. "That's not what I wanted to tell you. I came to talk to you about Shiro."

"Oh. Right," Lance laughed it off. "I knew that."

"Sure.....Anyway, I just want to know what made you follow him."

"You know about that?!"

"He's...talked to me about what happened."

"Oh," Lance looked down. He supposed Shiro would need someone to talk to. And while he was surprised it was Keith, he also figured Hunk and Pidge would have a bias for him. "Look, I didn't know I was following him. I honestly thought it was a dream until....," Lance sighed. "Until I saw some things." He shook his head. "I can't tell you what I saw, but....I was scared. Actually, I think I still am." He pressed his hands on the bench. "I don't know what Shiro's thinking or what he'll do. But I know I'm not innocent in this. I just...hope he can at least tolerate me for the next two hundred years."

Keith nodded along. "I get it, yeah." He tapped his finger on the seat. "I think you two should talk about it." He kicked his feet on the ground. "You guys don't seem the type to keep things hidden from one another. Plus, I'm sure he'd like to hear your side of things. And you should hear his."

"But what if he doesn't listen to me?"

"Well....he kind of has to, right?" Keith shrugged. "But you should hear him out, too. He may be a demon, but if he's bonded to you then he can't really hurt you."

"I guess," Lance looked up. "I should wait until he's ready, though. That may take a while, but I've got two hundred years."

"Yeah," Keith gave a small smile. His expression then turned to that of curiosity. "Hey, Lance. Can you tell me what the demon realm looks like?"

Lance leaned back. "Hm....pretty regal if you ask me. I was expecting a pit of fire or a torture chamber, but it's surprisingly well kept. It's a lot cleaner than my own apartment and looks pretty expensive to live in."

"Seriously?"

"I know! That's why I thought I was dreaming!"

"Maybe you were dreaming that part?"

"Oh stop!"

The two laughed. They looked out at the pond.

"Seriously, Keith. Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being a good friend."

"Oh...sure...." Keith looked up. "I didn't think of what to do after this. Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

"Definitely."

 

Keith and Lance ate at a fast food joint, with Keith telling Lance about some cryptids he heard was in the next town over. Lance laughed it off, but assured him that once everything between him and Shiro was cleared up, he'd definitely bring it up to be their next field trip. What Lance didn't expect was for Keith to go into detail about why this cryptid was in that area and talking in-depth about all the ways they could trap it. 

"What if it's another demon?" Lance bit on his fry.

"Then we'll just have to develop demon hunting weapons. I mean, I'm sure Shiro could help with that."

"Yeah, Shiro's gonna want to help hunt other demons."

"Lessen the competition once your contract is up."

Lance brought his cup close to him. "Fair enough." He took a sip as he listened to Keith drone on. By the time they were done, they parted ways. 

 

The music vibrated in his car all the way til he reached his apartment complex. He let himself sit in the car, listening to his music just a little while longer. He checked his phone. No messages from Shiro. He sighed and turned his car off. 

He walked up to his apartment, stepping in to an empty home. He should have expected as much. He headed for the couch and watched YouTube from his TV. His laptop sat on the coffee table with his camera and a cable next to it. Lance hovered his hand over the camera, but retracted it. It felt kind of wrong to edit videos when he literally invaded Shiro's privacy.

He couldn't even bring himself to rewatch whatever footage he took. Instead, he took to scrolling through his Twitter, checking to see what was new. Marco tweeted that he was going to a concert over the weekend, the post including a photo of himself holding up tickets. Lance saw Rachel's response with her demanding that he hand her a ticket, too. He responded back with _No can do sis :p_

He chuckled. Lance could picture Rachel seething on her bed and complaining to their parents. But he knew she'd live without going to the concert. Really, the only reason she'd want to is to get out of the house. He definitely related to that feeling. 

He stayed up for a few hours more before taking a shower and heading to bed. Not much Lance could do without Shiro.

* * *

A couple of days passed. Lance had gone back to work and while he wasn't feeling like his usual self, he did get by. He managed to keep himself distracted by gossiping with Plaxum and Florona, something he hadn't done in a while. He tried to get a hold of Hunk and Pidge, but he couldn't bring himself to admit to them what he had done. Lance picked up some groceries after his shift and returned to his apartment.

He dropped his bags when he unlocked the door, Shiro sitting on the couch with his arms crossed, staring off into nothing. 

Shiro turned his gaze to him. He was in his half-form, his fur-covered hoof legs touching each other and his tail curled up beside him. He had the flames that escaped his eyes. Lance gulped.

"Uh...hey," he weakly waved. 

Shiro continued to stare at him. 

"Uh...," Lance got on the floor to pick up the mess he made. "H-how long have you been waiting for me?"

The groceries were levitated out of his hands and floor. They were quickly rushed to the kitchen counter and set down neatly. 

"Do you still have the recording on your phone?" Shiro finally asked.

Lance looked down. 

"I don't know. I didn't get around to checking it."

Shiro narrowed his gaze. 

"Set the camcorder up. I want proof of this conversation."

Lance nodded and rushed to set up his camera. A clean, buttoned up shirt covered Shiro's chest with the dark mist covering his face. His antlers were still visible, but that's never been an issue. Lance pulled up a chair and kept himself out of the shot. 

"Is it on?" Shiro's tail uncurled.

"Yeah." 

Lance adjusted the position, careful not to have a close-up of the demon, but still showing him as clearly as possible. He had no idea what Shiro was trying to do. Maybe he wanted to humiliate him? 

"Well?" Shiro waved a hand. "I'm waiting."

"W-waiting?"

"You want to interview me, do you not?"

"Uh....right, of course," Lance was about to pull up his notes when a dark shadow vine stuck to his hand.

"Ask me what you really want to know."

Lance nodded and the shadow slipped off his skin.

"Alright. So...," tapped his thumbs together. "Uh....was that your place we were in?"

Shiro closed his eyes.

"Yes. It's my abode in the demon realm."

Lance could feel the hairs rising on his skin.

"It looked really nice...." 

Shiro opened his eyes, his gaze looking uninterested in the comment.

"Right...ahem," Lance tapped the side of his leg. "What....were you...." He took a deep breath. "Who were those ghosts and what were you doing to them?"

Shiro waved his hand, a group of silhouetted humans appearing.

"Those 'ghosts' were souls that have made deals with me in the past. I served them in their lives and they serve me in their deaths." A shadow puppet of his figure rose up. "You may recall a previous interview when you asked why demons accept deals from humans. How we need humans to keep ourselves under control. I feed off the essence of those who have given their souls to me. While a soul can never truly run out of energy, it does weaken over time." Shiro's eyes looked away from the direction of Lance and the camera. "Recently, I've found that I need to feed off those souls at a more constant rate. And I don't know why."

Lance's eyes widened. "Oh shit. Are those....all the souls that have made a deal with you?"

"No." The shadow puppets went away. "Some of my past clients have chosen to give me their life force, thus their souls don't belong to me. And a life force, unlike a soul, is limited in supply. And as for bonds....," Shiro clasped his hands together. "You....you're the first human I've formed a bond with."

Lance's chest ached. He really screwed up big time. 

"Shiro, I-"

"I don't know if being bonded to you will help me." The demon looked at his palms. "When one gives me their soul, life is sucked out of their eyes. I try to make my clients as comfortable as possible when the time comes for them to be my servants. I know not all of them were good people in life, but...there's nothing amusing about a soul with no spark. And so many resort to using me to make their mortal lives easier, better in some cases, but that's when they still have a spark. Once they serve me, they are merely echoes of their former selves." He closed his hands. "All this to say, I heard it's easier on a human when they are bonded to a demon. I can feed on your essence without taking away your spark. You would still belong to me so to speak, but...at least I could protect you from something worse."

A shadow loomed over the camcorder, but Lance turned it off before it did. Tears welled up and he covered his eyes. He shook and held down his whimpers.

"Lance?" The mist dissipated. 

"I'm sorry," Lance choked. "I swear, I didn't mean-" He wiped his nose with his sleeve. "I'm sorry..."

 

Lance was pulled in to Shiro's chest. A heavy hand caressed his head. 

"Shiro?"

"You really are an interesting human," Shiro nuzzled the top of his head. "And here I thought I was the one going to apologize."

"But," Lance hiccuped, "I'm the one that followed you."

"Which was bad." Shiro sat back down, bringing Lance down with him. "But what you saw....no one should have to see me like that. I'm sorry I never told you sooner."

The two hugged each other tightly. Lance looked up at Shiro, who had nothing but tender eyes for him. Their foreheads touched before they went in for a kiss. Shiro turned Lance on his back, kissing him and pulling down on his pants. 

"Do you know how hungry I've been?"

Lance chuckled. "It's only been three days. 'sides, I thought you had those souls to feed off of."

"Sex also feeds me," Shiro pressed another kiss down on him. "At least, when I'm doing it with my client. And you, my handsome little mouse, are my client."

"Mouse?"

"You did follow me somehow without my noticing, did you not?"

"I...I guess," Lance pouted. 

It was Shiro's turn to laugh, kissing Lance's neck. 

"Shall we play a little game to make this more exciting?"

"Fuck yeah."

 

Shiro conjured up shadow shackles to weigh down on Lance's wrists and ankles. Lance wore only his briefs and was on his knees. His arms hung across the wall and his crotch area was open. Lance's chin was lifted up by Shiro's tail.

"My, you can't go sneaking around when you're chained up, can you?" Shiro smirked. "Of course we need to do something about your eyes. You may want to see something you're not meant to see." Shiro tied a blindfold over Lance's eyes. "Now, you're going to hear me do who knows what and you mustn't reach out to me or say anything until I'm done. Understood?"

"Yes, Master."

"What's your safe word?"

"Sky."

There was a pause before Shiro said, "We will discuss a change of safe words later."

Stomps echoed the room. For a moment, all Lance could hear was Shiro's breathing. He could almost feel the heat coming from his nostrils. The next thing he heard was a crunch followed by a crackle. He sucked in a breath when he swore he heard his bed break in half. 

He could picture his master in his true form, walking down a forest that was his. He could see the demon's hooves crushing roots, branches, trunks, and even rocks. He winced when he heard a grating sound. A sound of him sliding the heel of his hoof down a pavement. Did hooves' have heels? He didn't have time to think of an answer when he heard a crash come down next to him and felt it shake the wall. He let out a yell, only for his mouth to be muffled by what he assumed was a shadow as it didn't taste like his tail.

"Don't push your luck," Shiro's voice sneered. "I know you're a coward, but if you don't remain silent for the remainder of this session, I will give you something to scream about. Nod if you understand."

Lance nodded and his mouth was free. He felt something sharp touch the bulge in his briefs.

"And no cumming until I say you can."

Shiro stepped away from him, his tail whipping down in front of Lance. Lance hummed back his scream. His arms were shaking and his was beating rapidly. Despite having a blindfold on, Lance shut his eyes. It was more to keep himself under control than to hide from anything. 

He heard the sound of Shiro growling. Of his teeth being bared. No, his fangs. His master had fangs. Fangs that could cut deep onto any surface, just like his claws. And the sound of claws piercing into gravel rung in his ears. He heard the heaving of Shiro's breath. He heard his master leap from one side to another. Did his master change the room to fit his needs? 

Whatever the case was, the leaping ceased as a thud and quake came down. He told himself not to cum. Especially when the heaving continued. This time, though, it sounded like Shiro was focused on something. Lance lifted his head. His master was touching himself. 

Lance leaned himself forward. Shiro didn't need to do that. Lance was right there, waiting to be used.

And then Shiro growled at him. Lance shrunk back against the wall. 

His master sounded more beast than man. A beast that had _him_ under his control. One that was torturing him right now. And giving him a torture he knew his bounded pet enjoyed. Lance knew his dick rose. But he had to make sure he didn't leak. 

A roar shook the room. It shook Lance. He sucked in a scream, instead breathing in and out with his mouth open. He kept breathing frantically until hoof steps came clomping his way. A pair of large paws engulfed him.

"You did so well."

Lance blinked to see the demon's face so renowned looking at him, holding the blindfold in between a pair of clawed nails. 

"You want to cum, do you not?"

"Y-yes," Lance said. "I want to cum, Master. May I?"

The shackles disappeared and the demon set his human on his dick, the briefs having been tossed aside. 

"Of course, dearest. Allow me to help you."

Shiro pushed Lance back and forth on his dick, which was just as long as Lance himself. Lance couldn't say he was surprised this was Shiro's real length. So large and swollen. And he was riding him. Riding a demon. Shiro held him so easily. Lance panted as he rode on, his ass feeling rough. It was kind of itchy, but he needed his demon's touch so bad. Lance gasped until he came. 

 

The room was in one piece somehow. It was as if there wasn't a disaster that occurred in the room. Lance had finished applying his face mask as he laid down beside Shiro, who shrunk down to a more compact size that didn't result in the bed breaking. He retained his antlers, hooves, and tail, though. Lance stared up at the ceiling, hands behind his head.

"So, you mentioned that you've been needing to feed more often. Anyway you can get that fixed?"

Shiro brought a leg to his chest.

"I don't know. But I may know someone that can."

"Oh? And who would that be?"

"A demon so powerful that it is an honor just to be in his audience."

"Wow. It sounds like you're describing the Devil himself."

"He's close. The Dark Lord does hold him in high regard."

"And you're not afraid."

Shiro let his leg slip back down as he laid on his back. 

"I am nervous. But I don't know who else to talk to. The good news, though, is that he shouldn't be difficult to find."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because he's here. On Earth."


	16. Finding a Dark Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro seeks out the location of a higher ranked demon to help him answer his questions. Lance and his friends go along with him to help him out, but receive an unexpected (and in Lance's case, an unwelcomed) extra tag-a-long.

Keith and Pidge formed the salt insignia on the floor as Hunk compared it to the image in the book Shiro had given him. 

"You're gonna need another line that way," Hunk pointed to a curve closest to the wall. Keith spilled the salt as instructed, earning a nod from Hunk. Candles were lit atop a desk and the floor with a pattern of asters laid across with a bowl of water underneath the symbol. 

Lance leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. 

"Are you sure this is how we can find this demon?"

"For a demon as high leveled as he is, yes." Shiro's gaze was at the door atop the stairway. "Pidge, is the door locked?"

"I've checked; its locked three times already," Pidge fixed a smudge on the floor. "My parents left an hour ago for their date night and I have drilled it into Matt to not bother coming down here."

"Aren't you worried he might need his tools?" Hunk asked.

"Not my fault he doesn't stuff it in his closet like me."

Hunk shook his head before looking back inside the book.

"Okay, so we have the salt sign, flowers, water...are we missing anything else?"

"Just one more thing." Shiro closed his eyes. His body grew bigger with his antlers, tail, hooves, and claws coming out. He was going into his full form, using his magic to make the basement bigger to make room for him to stand in. 

Hunk had tugged Pidge behind him as all of them looked at him in awe. Lance honestly couldn't get over seeing Shiro's true form and he didn't know if he'd ever get used to it. A blade was brought to Shiro's palm and he squeezed it hard enough until it broke and pierced his skin.

"Shiro!"

Before Lance could stop him, Shiro's tail wrapped itself around him.

"It's okay, Lance," Shiro opened his hand, showing that his blood appeared more like ink. "Demons don't hurt the same way humans do."

"Still kind of unsettling though," Pidge confessed, earning a tight squeeze from Hunk.

"Yeah, are you sure you're not hurt?" Keith asked.

"I'm fine," the blade disappeared from his grasp. "It stings a little, but it's nothing I can't handle. Turn the lights off, please."

Keith followed that order as he flicked the switch. Lance didn't stop worrying about Shiro. He winced as the demon placed his bloodied hand inside the symbol, pressing hard on one of the salt lines. Shiro closed his eyes as the asters and water rose up, swirling atop the insignia. The candles flickered, their smoke joining the water and flowers. Shiro opened his golden eyes, breathing slowly as his clawed paw scratched the floor. He looked up at the materials floating above them and spoke in a language that none of the humans could understand or even guess where it was from in origin. 

All of their eyes were on the makeshift mirror before them. The reflection showed a pristine mansion with green hedges and an alignment of purple and pink tinted flowers along the way. The reflection changed to that of an extravagant dining hall with a long, polished table and a chandelier hanging atop the blue and pink furniture, with empty plates set before each seat and vase that held a long, pink flower inside. The next image to show up was a portrait of a man with slightly long white hair that was kept in a small ponytail who had a smile on his face against a red background. After that, there was a cemetery with a feminine looking angel statue atop one of the graves. 

"I see," Shiro blinked. He hissed as he lifted his hand up from the floor, the materials dissolving into thin air. 

"Shiro!" 

Everyone gathered around him, trying to take a look at his hand, where the wound was closing up. 

"Told you I don't hurt the same way you humans do," Shiro moved his tail to turn the lights back on, closing his eyes to shrink down to his human form. 

"So, do you know where to find the demon that's supposed to help you?" Hunk stepped forward.

"Yeah, I do. And just our luck, he isn't far from here." Shiro summoned his demonic cellphone. He input the coordinates of the location, which rippled in the virtual map on a place that was considered private property just outside the city. "His contract was made here and it's where he's done the most activity these past years."

"And you're certain he'll have the answers?" Lance clutched Shiro's hand.

"He has to. I don't know any other high ranking demons on Earth."

"Why not ask in the demon realm?" Keith picked up the book Hunk held earlier, turning it over and skimming through the pages. 

"Because it's less paperwork if I just find someone who can give me answers here," Shiro picked up the book from Keith's hands. The book disappeared, going who knows where. Lance made a mental note to ask Shiro where all that stuff comes from for a future interview.

"Alright! Let's get this show on the road!" Lance tugged at Shiro's arm, leading him up the stairs. Before he could climb the stairs, he felt something hard hit him against his head. "Ow! Pidge!" He turned to look at her and the plastic cup she had thrown which was now rolling on the floor.

"I'm all for demon locating as much as the next supernatural enthusiast, but you are not leaving me to clean this mess!" She pointed to the salt that remained on the floor. 

Lance grumbled as it was Shiro's turn to lead him to the nearest broom and dust pan.

* * *

The gang had gathered in Lance's car to the location of this mysterious demon. Shiro didn't disclose who the demon was or even his name. When anyone tried to ask, Shiro responded that there are certain courtesies a demon has when it comes to revealing information about another demon.

"Courtesies like what? You didn't have a problem telling us who Adam was," Keith pressed his head against the window.

"Well, think of it like this," Shiro explained. "You wouldn't disturb a construction worker in the middle of a project even if you both work for the same company. You would either wait until you were both taking a break or reserve speaking to them after working hours. Of course, there is the exception of needing to speak with them if it's related to business." Shiro turned over to the next lane. "And if you're trying to get in touch with someone that's higher than you in the hierarchy of the job, then you definitely need to go about reaching them carefully."

"Would showing up at their doorstep really be a polite and courteous way of reaching them?" Pidge opened a bottle of soda and drank it down.

"If I request to speak to him privately, given that his client approves it, then all is well. If not, he'll know I sought an audience with him and will most likely get a hold of me in return."

"Seems weird," she twisted the cap back on the top.

"It's a demon thing."

Lance pretended not to seem interested, although his eyes couldn't stop staring at the way Shiro's nails extended and retracted. He could see a more defined canine every time Shiro's teeth were exposed as he spoke. He hoped that whoever this demon was, they would be able to help Shiro in this predicament. 

 

As they continued to drive, an owl suddenly hit its body against the windshield.

"SHIT!" Lance and Pidge called out as Shiro let out a hiss and peeled the car off to the side of the road. He stomped abruptly on the brakes, setting the car on park before turning the ignition off. Lance, Shiro and Keith filed out of the car while Hunk peered through the open door.

"It's not dead, is it?"

Before anyone could grab the bird, it rose right up and hooed.

"It's....alive?" Lance looked at it in confusion.

The owl then flew above the car and swept down to the side. Pidge scurried over to the other side and tried to get a peek out the window. Before anyone could do anything, the owl grew in size and its feathers molted off to reveal Adam.

"Oh great, it's you," Lance frowned.

Adam only gave an impressive glance at Lance before shifting his attention to Shiro.

"You're seeking a Dark Master, aren't you?"

Shiro moved in front of Lance.

"What of it? Did you want a lift or something?"

Adam pushed up his glasses. "Actually, yes. Because I want you to lead me to them."

"How did you know we were looking for them? Have you been spying on us? Or did you use your demon magic on us? On Shiro?" Lance crossed his arms, leaning his head forward.

Adam took a step back from Lance, making Lance think he was successful in intimidating the demon.

"It was a safe assumption considering how often Shiro has gone to the demon realm. It would make sense that he'd seek out the advice of one of our higher ups that just so happens to be on Earth, too."

"Oh, so you think you're a smart guy, huh? Well, I-"

Lance was pulled back by Shiro.

"Have no idea why you want to see him, too," Shiro finished with his own thoughts.

"I have no reason to seek him, but I would like to know why you need to consume more energy than usual from your souls."

"I don't believe that's business that concerns you."

"It does if it's going to open more portals than necessary, leaving more humans susceptible to entering our realm."

Both demons had serious faces. Lance noticed Shiro concealing a clenched fist from view of Adam, his hand inching behind his back. Lance moved himself to Shiro's side, helping him hide his demon's unhappiness of the situation. 

"Can that really happen?" Keith looked to Shiro for answers.

Shiro looked over his shoulder to glance at Keith and then at Lance before facing Adam again.

"I don't know. I've been careful with my portals, but if Adam coming with us means he won't pester us for the remainder of this trip, then we might as well have him come along."

Adam gave a coy smile. "Such a gentleman, Takashi."

"Just get in."

Lance put his arms in front of everyone. 

"Woah, woah, woah. We do not have enough room in this car for six people." He pointed a finger at Adam. "You're going to have to shapeshift."

"Oh, please. You should command your own demon to shapeshift."

"My car. My rules."

Adam glared at Lance.

"Do what he says, Adam," Shiro glared back.

Adam gave off a humph sound as he crouched down and shapeshifted back into an owl. 

"Good," Lance gave an approving nod. "Keith, you carry him."

Adam fluttered his wings and put himself in Lance's arms, freaking Lance out and making him scream and almost drop him were it not for Adam's ability to fly.

"I think he wants to be in the front with you guys," Keith replied as he opened the car door to the backseat and sat back down.

 

To say this was an awkward position was an understatement. Shiro's eyes were on the road while Adam was sitting on Lance's lap as an owl. Lance kept his hands on the arm rest and cover. The only noise that came from inside the car were the directions being given by the phone. Keith had drifted off to sleep as Pidge and Hunk felt just as awkward based on what Lance could tell from their reflections in the rear view mirror. 

"So....it looks like we're still some odd miles away from this place. What if we listen to some music." Hunk reached his hand forward to the phone, only to receive a peck from Adam who twisted his head around, causing both Hunk and Lance to scream.

"Adam." Shiro said in warning, eyes still on the road. 

Lance wanted to die right then and there. He gulped as avoided looking down at Adam. He tried to keep himself calm. His demon's ex was nothing to be afraid of. Except for the fact that said ex was also a demon who was currently a bird and can turn into a bigger bird and easily peck his eyes out or grow to the point of destroying the car or carrying him away on those talons and drop him off a clip or-

_Lance, it's okay. It's only temporary._

His thoughts were interrupted by Shiro's voice. He blinked, turning to Shiro whose focus remained on the road. 

"Uh...did you say something, Shiro?" 

"I didn't hear him say anything," Pidge answered as she leaned against Hunk.

"Oh, right." 

_They can't hear me. But you can._

"Huh? How?"

"What is it, Lance?" Hunk looked at Lance with worry.

"Oh, uh, nothing. I said nothing."

Hunk shrugged as he put an arm around Pidge's shoulders. 

Lance thought that this was really weird. He swore he heard Shiro's voice just now.

_You did. But don't freak out. This is a part of the contract._

Okay, but this was still freaky. Could Shiro read all of his thoughts now?

_No. Only the ones you'll allow me to hear._

Lance breathed out a sigh of relief. 

_Listen, Lance. I know this is a position you don't want to be in. But you don't have to be afraid. As long as I'm here, I'll protect you. Adam isn't going to do anything to you._

His heart beat fast. He put a hand over his chest, calming himself down.

_You want to know something embarrassing about Adam? He'll molt feathers at the most inconvenient of times. Most believe he leaves feathers behind on purpose for the aesthetic, but really he has a horrible molting problem._

Lance couldn't help but chuckle. He kept it low enough that he could easily lie about thinking of a funny joke. He didn't think demons had to worry about grooming issues.

_Oh, we do. We may be demons, but even demons have to keep up with their hygiene._

Lance wondered if there was something Shiro had to do to groom himself.

_I don't have to answer that._

He would if it was part of the filming process. 

_My dear, I can send you more intimate messages if you'd like. But I don't know if you'd be able to contain yourself, even with Adam so close to you._

Okay, now Shiro was just being mean.

_I am a demon after all._

Lance allowed himself to relax in his seat. For as cheeky as Shiro had been, it was comforting to hear him. And it made him feel special that he was the only one who could hear him. Of course that should have been obvious. After all, they were the ones with the contract. Still, he happily looked out the window knowing he had that connection. 

 

They reached a large, iron gate that was held together by a pile of red bricks. Keith woke up from his nap and he, Hunk and Pidge leaned forward, staring at the size of the property. 

"How are we going to get in?" Hunk asked.

"We could break in," Keith suggested.

"What? No. That's a dumb idea, Keith," Lance hissed. "We don't know if they have guards or guard dogs or even booby traps."

"You make it sound like we're entering a dungeon," Pidge gave an unimpressed expression.

"Still. I say I go in and try to swoon whatever guy or gal is on the other side," Lance gave a toothy grin.

"You are not doing that," Shiro said.

The conversation ceased when the gates opened wide for them to drive on. 

"Woah, that was easy," Lance said.

"You humans are so simple-minded," Adam said, making Lance jump and having Adam fly off of his lap.

"HOLY SHIT, YOU CAN TALK!"

Adam perched himself on the front area of the car, staring out the windshield.

"Let's just go in."

Shiro slowly stepped on the gas pedal, driving slowly past the gates. The three in the back moved back to their original positions and all of the humans looked in awe at the place. It was as green as the portal reflection thing made it appear. The rows of pink and purple tinted flowers, with trees planted around the corners. Butterflies covered the green as blue birds settled upon the branches. Lance looked behind the mansion and noticed something off in the distance. He couldn't tell what it was, but compared to the lush colors that surrounded them, the distance appeared more gray for some reason. 

The car was parked and turned off. Everyone got out, with Adam enveloping their perimeter in darkness so he could shift into his human form. The darkness went away and they climbed the steps up to the door, with ramps on opposite ends to also reach the threshold. Lance took a deep breath as he rang the door bell and knocked on the door. When it opened, a face he had seen not to long ago answered.

"Hello?" 

A young woman of dark, puffy hair and a sophisticated blue dress this time. It was the same woman as before.

"Oh, I remember you. You were at the Coalition before, right?" 

The woman kept her hands on the door.

"Yes....Oh," her face softened. "You were the one I asked for directions."

"Yup, that was me."

She allowed herself a soft smile, hands dropping from the door.

"Thank you, again. Although I must ask what brings you here.....uh...."

"Lance. And my boyfriend thinks you might be able to help him find someone Miss...."

"Allura. But, who on Earth do you think I can find?" Her questioning gaze turned to Shiro.

"Allura, do you by any chance know of a man named Coran?"

For some reason, Lance swore he heard that name before. 

"Ah, is someone talking about me?!" The orange-haired man with a prominent mustache appeared, twirling his facial hair in his finger and appearing out of nowhere.

Lance and his friends raised their eyebrows. 

"Uh....Shiro, is this really the Master you were talking about?" Keith asked softly. 

"Yeah, please tell me Shiro's mistaken, Adam," Hunk turned to Adam, only to find him bowing his head. 

They were all perplexed. Shiro and Adam gave a respectful bows to this strange old man.

"It is an honor to be in your presence, Master Coran," Adam and Shiro said simultaneously.

Their jaws practically dropped.

"Wait, _this_ guy is the high-ranking demon you were talking about?!" Lance was in total disbelief. How? 

"Ah, Shiro, it's good to see you, lad. And you as well, Adam. I see you've both been kept busy." Coran stood and spoke nonchalantly. "Please, don't worry about yourselves with formalities when we are in the presence of our humans. Or humans in Adam's case."

"Yes, sir." Shiro and Adam lifted their heads. 

"Our humans? So, you know about me?" Lance pointed at himself.

"I do. And my, what a foolish deal you've made."

Lance was flabbergasted. He gave off an offended choking sound. How many demons knew of the deal anyway?

"Coran, is this a human that's made a deal with a demon, too?" Allura looked at Lance in awe, her eyes wide and full of curiosity.

"Indeed."

"Wait. Too? Does this mean...." Lance looked at Allura in shock. "You....made a deal with a demon?"

Allura pressed her forefingers against her lips.

"Well....it's a long story. Please, come in."

She ushered her new guests inside her mansion. They all stepped in, unsure of what they were about to be told or what was to come next.


	17. A Dark Master's Answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group gets answers from a Dark Master, who is not what they expected him to be.

They gathered in the study of the mansion, which was more like it's own personal library than a study. There was a fireplace and a large portrait hanging above it. It was the same one as the others had seen through Shiro's tracking....spell? Lance was going to call it a spell for the time being. Allura had her hands clasped together in front of her as she shifted her gaze to Coran who had a more neutral expression to his face. Adam stood opposite from Shiro and Lance, his head down and face flushed. Lance couldn't help but snicker until he noticed Shiro was just as nervous with a shaking hand. Lance grabbed it and looked up at him.

Without saying anything, he assured Shiro that everything was fine. That they were here and could get the answers they were looking for. 

Shiro gave Lance a soft expression, squeezing his hand back.

_Thank you, Lance._

Then Lance thought about if this Coran guy was really the dark master they were looking for. Surely it couldn't be-

_Lance!_

Lance let go of Shiro's hand and focused his attention on Allura and Coran.

"Okay. So," Lance crossed his arms, "you're someone else who's made a deal with a demon, huh?"

Allura brought her hands close to her chest.

"Well, actually, about that," she coughed into her fist, "while it is true that Coran looks after me, I was not the one to make a deal with him."

"Demons can watch over humans without a deal?" Hunk asked.

"Not quite. You see, Coran was actually my father's demon," she gestured to the portrait of the young man above the fireplace. 

"Ah, what a fine man Alfor was," Coran smiled as reminisced about his client. "The pinnacle of what clients should be."

"Yeah, that's nice and all and as much as I would love to hear this story, but-"

"Don't interrupt Master Coran!" Adam glared at Lance as he stood in front of Coran. He turned to the dark master and bowed his head. "Forgive this ignorant human, Master. He knows not of your importance."

Coran merely chuckled. "It's alright, Adam. I do find this human entertaining." He looked to Shiro. "But yes, you are not here to hear my story."

Shiro shook his head and hands. "Oh, Master. It's quite alright. We did not mean to interrupt."

"Your courtesy is admirable, but I can tell you've been having some trouble keeping yourself in that human form."

Shiro shifted his gaze. Lance and his friends looked to Coran in awe.

"How did you know about that?" Pidge eyed Coran up and down as she adjusted her glasses.

"As a dark master, it is my job to keep tabs on the demons ranked below me. That, and I can see a stubble of his antlers popping out of his head."

"My antlers?!" Shiro summoned a pocket mirror, pressing his fingers down to feel the bumps that were from the stubble of his antlers. He let out a small gasp as he noticed the antlers when he pushed his hair.

"You are...really perceptive," Keith stared at Shiro's head. "We didn't notice those."

Hunk pointed to Shiro's head as he whispered to Pidge, whose mouth was agape. Lance couldn't stop himself from staring as well. He mentally asked Shiro if he was fine.

_I'm fine._

"Ah, just part of being a demon," Coran gave an affirming nod. "Now then, how long have you been having trouble keeping your true form at bay?"

"Recently, sir. I've been feeding off the souls I have, but...."

Adam put a hand on his hip.

"And as such, he's been making portals to the demon realm constantly."

Lance shot a glare at him.

"And no one's gone through!"

"No one, huh?"

Lance turned to Shiro. He thought his question: Does Adam know?

_Well....secrets are hard to keep with demons._

"Are you serious?!"

Coran rubbed his chin. 

"Ah, but I see that your bond with your current client has grown stronger."

"Wait, you know that about that, too?!" Lance gawked.

"Of course! I am a dark master for a reason!" Coran pushed his shirt collar up. "But there's no need to worry about all of that. All of this is a natural process when forming a bond with a human-demon bond."

Coran waved his arms in front of him, conjuring up a holographic simulation of a generic looking demon and human.

"A bond between demon and human is much more co-dependent than other contracts. Whereas the human offers something in return for a demon's services, a bond helps both parties: the demon grows stronger when bonded as the human lives longer with the demon."

"If that's the case, then shouldn't bonds be more common?" Pidge leaned down to take a look at the simulation.

"Not quite."

The simulated demon was shown to grow much to the distraught of the human.

"Demons still need the energy from humans to keep them in check. And a bond is a human giving their energy to make the demon stronger. Thus, demons need to make other deals with humans in order to be kept under control."

"That sounds, really confusing...." Lance frowned.

"Hm....allow me to put it in a way you might understand: you have an artist and a muse. The artist helps make the muse immortal as the muse inspires the art that is being produced. However, one cannot make art without the right tools. That is what the bond between human and demon means."

Lance sucked in a breath. He was Shiro's muse. He was being given a longer lifespan. And he made Shiro stronger. Yet, he was also the cause of making him lose more and more control. The fire from the chimney did nothing to warm him up. A chill lingered on his skin as goosebumps grew.

"So, the longer we're together, the more control he'll lose."

"Not quite." Allura knelt down and placed her hands on the backs of the hologram demon and human. "The demon can still use energy from previous souls, but their bonded human can also provide an alternative source of energy. While it depends on the circumstances of the bond, the human can still perform a special act that would suffice as nutrients to keep the demon in control of their power." She pushed the demon and human holographs together, her hands forming a heart shape. "It can be quite romantic."

Pidge stuck her tongue out and made a fake gagging noise. Hunk made a cooing noise as Keith didn't have much of a reaction to the revelation. Adam merely turned away from the holograms, his eyes looking rather serious. As long as there was something he could do to help Shiro, that's all Lance cared about. But thinking of what he'd have to do made him blush.

"Uh...if that's the case," Lance cleared his throat, "that should be easy enough."

"I'm glad to hear it," Coran nodded as he removed the holograms.

"But is that all I need to have better control of maintaining a human form?" Shiro's eyes searched in Coran's for answers.

Coran pointed a finger up. "Not solely just that. You will still need the essence of the souls in your hold. However, with Lance's help, you should not require frequent visits. What the act is must be sorted out between the two of you. Otherwise, yes." He put a hand on Shiro's shoulder. Lance noted how much shorter Coran was compared to Shiro and Adam. Sure, Coran was taller than him, but for a dark master he didn't exactly tower over his subordinates. "You're a strong demon, Shiro. One of our finest. You need not worry about losing control. And should it come to it, you can trust that I will be there to put a stop to it," Coran clenched a fist as he let go of Shiro.

Shiro smiled and bowed again. 

"Thank you, Master."

"And Adam."

Adam quickly straightened himself out and saluted to him.

"Sir!"

Lance, Hunk and Pidge chuckled. 

"I know you have your reservations about Shiro considering your past relationship with him, but rest assured that all will be taken care of. You only need to focus on your tasks. And if you are unsure of what to do, feel free to get in touch with me. You know where on Earth I am."

"Yes, Master," Adam let his hand drop, practically staring daggers at Lance and his friends. Lance didn't mind, though. A bit of embarrassment is what he deserved for butting himself in this situation anyway.

 

Allura urged them to stay longer as she had questions for them and wanted to know more about demon contracts. Adam politely declined her offer (Lance assumed the politeness came about because Coran was around her) and saw himself out the door. Lance held Shiro's hand, the two holding one another tightly. 

"Ah, I've always wanted to meet another person that's made a contract with a demon," Allura clasped her hands.

"Wasn't your dad the one who made the deal with Coran, though?" Pidge spun a globe that was off to the side.

"Yes, but...." Allura patted her leg as a thought came to her. "Oh! You're the one who's been vlogging about your experiences, right?!"

"Uh, yeah," Lance smiled as he took out his phone. "I have a couple of videos on here that I can show you."

He opened it up and played a few short clips, allowing her to hold his phone. Allura watched with Coran peering over her shoulder to take a look. 

"Oh, this is very impressive."

Lance made a proud grin.

"It's a shame you couldn't have just made yourself famous already instead of doing things the hard way. Seems like a waste of a contract with a demon."

Lance's grin fell. He heard his friends, including Shiro, chuckling from behind. 

"Ah, I'm not one to take the easy route," Lance tried to sound serious as he took his phone back and tucked it back in his pocket. "You know, I could interview you and Coran and you guys could be a part of this. Of course, we'd pretend this is fake for publicity's sake and act like I wrote the whole thing, but your backstory would make the vlogs slash book a lot more compelling."

"Vlogs slash book?" Keith gave Lance a questioning look.

"Yes, Keith. I plan to make this an experience for all to enjoy. YouTube viewers who are thirsty for a good, well-shot creepy series of videos. Book nerds who want a non-traditional horror story with romance. And both for those to go the extra mile and to have famous YouTubers analyze everything on both sides and give me more exposure. And this would all lead to Hollywood being interested, them getting in contact with me, and having a movie made about the whole thing."

Keith's frown grew.

"You make things a lot more complicated than they need to be."

Allura laughed. "I would love to be involved."

"As would I!" Coran chimed in.

"You too, Master?" Shiro looked on in surprise.

"For as silly as this contract is, it does sound like fun."

"Tell you what: Coran and I will take questions from you and you show us everything you have so far."

Lance put his hand forward. "Sounds like a fair deal-"

"Oh, there is one more thing I must ask," Coran halted Lance's hand. "Shiro, I hate to bother you so, but I have an errand I need you to do."

"Anything, Master," Shiro looked at Coran with concern in his eyes.

"I have an apprentice that is coming to Earth. Unfortunately, I am too preoccupied with other business that I won't be able to meet them. Would you mind finding my apprentice and bringing them here? I can get my hands on something that will further help with your control as payment."

"Of course, Master."

"Excellent!"

The group lingered for a bit, exchanging numbers and social media before driving back home.

 

After dropping everyone home, Shiro was more than ready to relax in the apartment. His antlers, tail, and hooves came out immediately as he stepped foot inside. He gave out a sigh as he plomped down on the couch. Lance looked over the couch to see how exhausted Shiro was. Shiro turned on his back and looked at Lance.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to get out of my human disguise."

Lance chuckled, grabbing Shiro's clawed hand.

"I'm worried about what I need to do to help you keep you under control."

"I think I can take a guess."

"Oh?" 

Lance was pulled down as Shiro kissed him. Lance kissed him back and Shiro slipped his hands down Lance's pants and cupped his cock. Shiro put a hand on Lance's neck, summoning a collar and tugged it. 

"Beg."

Lance sucked in a breath.

"Master...please give me your tail."

Shiro's tail scratched Lance's back as Shiro removed Lance's pants. Shiro ordered Lance to stay still as he slowly slipped his tail inside. He played with Lance's cock, rubbing the tip and having a firm grasp around the main part. He showed off a fanged grin, as he brought Lance's face down and bit down on his ear. Lance breathed in through his nose, shutting his eyes as he felt the tail push inside him and cause a bulge in his stomach. Shiro kept playing Lance's cock until he came. 

It was quick, but enough for the two. They got cleaned up and relaxed in the living room, Lance wondering who Coran's apprentice was. Furthermore, he worried if Adam would butt into their lives again. A part of him knew the answer would be yes.


	18. The Demon Apprentice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance comes across a strange but lost young woman as he makes a trip to the convenience store.

The thought of another demon coming to Earth should have been a scary thought. It should have kept any normal person up at night, fearing for the worst to happen. Fearing for the innocent that cross paths with this demon and the demon taking their souls. But Lance slept soundly the night they returned from Allura's place. Getting fucked by Shiro might have helped, but was honestly surprised when he woke up that morning to a dry bed. Shiro remained asleep, snoring softly as his back was turned away from Lance. Lance smiled before getting out of bed and grabbing his clothes off the hangers in his closet and leaving the apartment quietly so he could pick up some doughnuts and coffee from the convenience store across the street. 

He was at the street light among a crowd of people, waiting for the light to turn green. Cars drove by, an endless stream of them. Lance unlocked his phone to find a message from Veronica from his Messenger app.

_I have tickets to a haunted house next weekend. I'm gonna be pretty busy, so if you want them you can have them._

Lance texted her back.

_Why me? You know that shit scares me!_

He added a sticker of a screaming dog.

_Just thought you and Shiro might want to go. Could give you inspiration for whatever it is you're trying to do. But if you don't want them, I can ask someone else._

He noticed the name of the haunted house and realized it was one that Pidge had shown an interest in going to. 

_How many?_

He heard footsteps moving forward and went along with them as he waited for Veronica's response. 

_Three. I was gonna sell the third one._

Lance typed back.

_Think I can ha-_

There was a thud. Lance jumped back and yelped, searching for what he bumped into. He looked down to see a petite young woman with long blonde hair in pigtails, wearing a pink tank top and beige shorts.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lance tucked his phone into his pocket. "I didn't see you there."

"That's alright," the woman responded. "You looked super serious when using your cellular device."

Cellular? How old was this girl?

"Uh, yeah." As Lance was about to walk to the convenience store, the woman called to him again.

"Wait, can you help me?"

She looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. Well, she was cute, he couldn't deny that.

"Oh, you need directions or something?"

"Yes! I was wondering if you know where the mansion of the dark one is."

Mansion of the dark one. 

"Uh....I think there's a church-"

"Oh goodness, no! That is the opposite of what I am looking for!"

Lance couldn't help but fake chuckle. He was hoping she was referring to a goth church or something. But now he was scared that this was a member of a cult. 

"Uh....," there had to be another place she was talking about. A normal place. "Well, the Museum of Death is in the next town over-"

"There's a Museum of Death?!" The woman had a huge grin plastered on her face, her eyes widened with joy. Okay, this chick was officially weird.

"Y-yes...."

The woman shook her head.

"No, I need to focus. I'm looking for a residence."

Lance blinked.

"A place where one lives."

"Oh, a house. Do you have an address?"

"Address?"

"You know, a street name or something?"

She sighed and looked at her feet. 

"No....." She shook her head. "It's alright. I'll search for it on my own. I believe the automobile driver might tell me."

She dragged her feet across the pavement, holding her hands behind her back. Lance felt kind of sorry for her. She was clearly lost, but in more ways than one. He knew this wasn't going to be a good idea, but he called out to her again. She looked over her shoulder.

"Uh....if you come with me, I might be able to help."

"Are you sure?"

No.

"Yeah. I mean, you're probably new and-"

She ran up to him and squeezed him tight.

"Oh thank you! Thank you!"

She was a lot stronger than she looked. 

"You're welcome," Lance barely said as he was losing his breath.

She let him go as she bounced around and told him to lead the way. 

"Okay, but first: breakfast."

 

Being inside the convenience store wowed the woman, who revealed her name to be Romelle. Romelle walked around the small aisles, twirling on her heels as she was amazed at the junk food and cheap electronic selections that surrounded her. Lance picked up the doughnuts and placed them in a bag before grabbing some coffee. Romelle pressed her face against one of the doors that had beers behind it. 

"Uh...did you want something?"

Romelle shifted her eyes to him.

"Oh. Whatever you might recommend would be good."

Lance added an extra doughnut to the bunch and an egg and bacon burrito to his total. He opted out on the coffee, worried it would not mix well with her when he had the doughnuts. After he paid, he escorted her out of the shop and led her back to his apartment.

He hoped Shiro wouldn't mind that he brought a weird girl to their place. He had his doubts that Shiro would be jealous, but he also didn't want to inconvenience him. He sent him a quick text advising him to go into his human form. He prayed that Shiro was still in the bedroom so that it wouldn't be awkward. 

When he unlocked the door, the living room was clear much to his relief. He set the items down and passed the burrito to Romelle.

"Wait right here."

Romelle took the burrito, turning it over before taking a bite without removing the aluminum around it. Lance chose to ignore that as he knocked on the bedroom door and let himself in.

Shiro was standing in front of the bed, phone in hand and looking human. 

"Any reason you wanted me in this form?" Shiro made his phone disappear.

"Okay, so I brought home a girl-"

"Lance, I never pegged you to be that kind of man."

"I don't mean it like that!"

Shiro snickered.

"Anyway, there's this girl that's lost and is trying to find some house, but she doesn't have an address so I was hoping you could help me help her. I didn't want to just leave her by herself because she looks really lost."

Shiro brushed past Lance, petting the top of his head.

"Alright, I'll help."

As soon as he opened the door, Romelle looked up, the last part of the burrito inside her mouth. She swallowed rapidly as she gasped.

"Shiro! I had no idea you were here!"

Lance perked an eyebrow.

"Wait, you two know each other?" His finger pointed at the two.

"It's been a while, Romelle." Shiro closed his eyes briefly, allowing his antlers and long nails to be revealed.

Lance screeched.

"SHIRO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Lance, it's okay," his tail swung behind him. "Romelle is a demon as well."

Lance's jaw dropped. He didn't pay attention to the pleasantries that Shiro and Romelle exchanged. Sure, it might have explained why she was acting weird, but did all demons just act that way when they enter Earth? How did she even get here? He interrupted their conversation.

"Wait, Romelle is a demon and you know her?!"

"Of course," Romelle replied. "Shiro's a higher up back in our realm and I've worked under him a few times. But this is my first time coming to Earth!"

"She's right," Shiro confirmed. "This is Coran's apprentice."

Lance moved his head back.

"Hold up. You're supposed to be Coran's apprentice?"

Romelle nodded.

"But...how?"

"I was hand selected by the Dark Master himself! But I had trouble creating a portal to his exact location. Oh do tell me I'm not far."

"Uh....."

"Not at all," Shiro stretched his hand where a glass of orange juice came to him. He held the cup out to her. "We can take you to him when you're ready."

Romelle took the glass.

"Ah, thank you, Shiro. You're so kind."

Lance was never going to get over how the word "kind" could be used as a compliment for a demon. Even weirder when it came from another demon. But it was nice to see Shiro happy and informal around another demon. He may not have been paying attention to what they were saying, but Shiro looked interested in whatever Romelle had to say. He wondered if Shiro had any other demon friends. 

 

Allura had answered and while she and Coran weren't home, they were in the area and would be more than willing to pick up Romelle from Lance's place. All he had to do was text them the address and they would be good to go. Romelle was currently being mesmerized by the few cable channels he had on his TV, clicking on the buttons of the remote to change them in a loop. Shiro stood beside Lance as he joined in observing her.

"You'll have to be patient with her. She's a relatively young demon and has never been to Earth before."

"That explains it," Lance put his hands in his pockets. "But I thought demons would already been born with knowledge about Earth. You know, to torture the souls of the damned and all that."

"Not quite. I mean, we're born knowing what a human is and the basic concept of them, but times do change as does human culture. There's only so much a demon can learn from our realm before coming here."

Shiro wasn't wrong. Lance had to admit that history wasn't exactly an easy subject for him in school, so it made sense. Romelle had settled on a channel that had a rerun of a show about over the top obstacle courses. She looked normal in this scenario with her eyes glued to the screen. Her posture was bent as she had her feet on the couch (with her shoes off, which Lance was grateful for). He tried to look for anything off about her that would give away her real form. No visible tattoos. Her skin was normal for a human's.

"Lance, what are you doing?"

He blinked, turning away from her.

"Oh, nothing."

"Are you trying to see if she has any demon features?"

"No! .....Yes."

Shiro shook his head. 

"What? How is she able to look human if she's a young demon? You told me that demons need human sustenance to control their powers and she's never been to Earth before."

"Oh that's easy. I'm given a supply!" Romelle jumped on her knees as she looked over the couch to see them.

"You guys have a supply?"

"Well where do you think we come from? Of course since we get them from souls that aren't under contract, it can only last for so long."

"Does this mean you're gonna start transforming if you don't start making deals?"

Romelle laughed. "Not right away. I was given enough supply to last at least a year." Her eyes looked past Lance as she took note of his camcorder on the counter. She pointed straight at it. "What is that?!"

Lance and Shiro looked to it. Lance picked it up.

"This? Just a camera I use to record videos."

"Oh, so that's what that silly deal with Shiro was about."

Lance's face turned red. "My deal is not silly!"

Shiro looked away.

"Hey, you're supposed to defend me!"

Shiro shrugged. 

Romelle hopped over the couch and snatched the camcorder away from Lance. 

"Hey!"

"Oooo, how does this work?" She opened the camera part up and started pressing her fingers down on various buttons.

"This is not a toy!" Lance took the camcorder back. "This is a very delicate piece of equipment and it would be even more expensive to replace if anything were to happen to it."

"Why not just order Shiro to give you more camcorders?"

"Actually, I-"

"Don't give him any ideas. I already had to explain to him that genies were not demons." Shiro wandered off and took a seat next to the table. 

For some reason, that made Romelle laugh. Lance didn't know what she was laughing about, but he laughed alongside her. He couldn't be blamed for thinking they were very similar. The main difference was that making a wish with a demon could have dire consequences for one's soul. Then again, Shiro was certainly no dick and at least honored his requests, so that was a plus. He did wonder if he should ask Shiro if genies were real. 

His train of thought was broken when he noticed Romelle continuing to stare at the camcorder with wide eyes. He was afraid that she would use her demon powers to get a hold of it, so he had to think of something else to distract her. He closed the camcorder, placing it on the table and taking out his phone.

"You wanna learn about what's popular with humans nowadays?"

"On your cellular device?" Romelle tilted her head.

"It's called a cellphone, and yes."

He'd need to start her off with something simple and easy to grasp. He opened up his YouTube app. His subscriptions consisted of beauty guru and horror/creepypasta centric channels. He scrolled through his recommended videos which mainly had horror parodies and analyses, popular song covers, and various superhero-centric videos. He typed in "cute animals" in the search bar and allowed Romelle to choose which one she'd like to watch.

She kept scrolling through until she saw one about a fox. The fox wasn't doing anything extraordinary, just yawning and sticking its tongue out. But it seemed to be enough to grab Romelle's attention. She shoved herself next to Shiro, asking if he had ever seen anything like this. Shiro politely nodded and pointed out that there more videos for her to watch. Romelle sat at the table and Lance took that as his cue to hand Shiro and himself some doughnuts. He passed one to Romelle, who ate it all in one bite. 

After watching a few more videos, she begged Lance to show her more of what was popular with Lance. Before Lance could open the next app, a message from Veronica popped atop the screen.

"Veronica said? Is Veronica your phone? Can your phone talk to you?"

Lance had completely forgotten to message Veronica back. 

"No....yes? Kind of? But no, Veronica is not my phone. I'm just getting a message from my sister Veronica."

"Ah, that's right. Silly me. I forgot cellphones could be used to send messages."

"Uh...yeah. Excuse me."

Lance turned away from her as he typed a response back to Veronica.

_Sorry. Currently have demon business to deal with. Think you can save all three tickets? I feel like Pidge would want to go, too._

He locked his phone and thought of what to do with Romelle next. He felt bad leaving her cooped up in his apartment, but he didn't exactly trust her to be outside just yet. Shiro chose the next activity as he summoned one of the few books without pictures Lance owned. A copy of an anthology of horror stories.

"Here. You should familiarize yourself with what modern humans find scary." He handed the book to Romelle.

"Pfft, Shiro, that book's not scary."

"Lance, you nearly cried when you read the story of the three-eyed snake."

"That's a freaky concept, Shiro! Snakes are only meant to have two eyes! And their eyes don't even work, so why would they have three?!"

"Alright, so they might be only scary to Lance-"

"Hey!"

"But I did find that there are fans of this author, so some might find these works unsettling."

"Shiro, you don't really expect her to finish the book in a day. It took me months to get to the last story."

Romelle placed a hand over the book and her eyes glowed a fluorescent white and pink. Lance let out a scream as he fell out of his chair. Shiro used his tail to grab a hold of his waist to prevent him from falling on his ass. She removed her palm from the cover and her eyes turned back to normal.

"I wouldn't qualify this as Hell material, but I certainly understand how this invokes fear in humans."

Lance was still shaking as he was put back in his seat.

"That was freaky."

"What? I thought you've seen demons read."

"Shiro never reads books like that! He reads like a normal, boring person by flipping the pages."

Shiro gave a half-smile. 

"Actually, I only read like that around you so as not to freak you out. And most of the time I'm just re-reading it."

Lance sunk down in his chair.

"Demons are weird."

"Not as much as humans," Romelle cheerily replied as she pried more about the book's contents. It was a discussion that involved all three. Shiro and Romelle spoke about the intricacies of the human psyche whilst Lance chimed in and wanted to know from a demon's perspective how they viewed the book. He should have known that a pair of demons wouldn't find the anthology to be fearful at all, but he was glad to see them gushing over it in a different way. 

The rest of their day was pretty uneventful. They jumped from discussing the anthology to Lance summarizing a bunch of classic horror films to Romelle. Shiro would chime in and often compared any book to film adaptations. Lance learned some new demon trivia when Romelle brought up how a select few horror classics are taught to young demons in the demon realm so that they may be given some ideas on how to torture souls and how to use their true forms or shape shifting abilities to their full advantage. He wrote it down as he wondered if he should use it as part of the project.

 

The day came to an end when there was a knock on the door. When Lance answered, Allura and Coran greeted him, with Romelle and Shiro bowing their heads to Coran.

"Ah, you young demons and your formalities," Coran said. 

Romelle quickly composed herself as she excitedly recounted the day to Coran.

"The human world is so fascinating, Master! Lance and Shiro told me so much about it, yet I know that's only a fraction of what there is to it."

"Aha, my girl, there will be much more I can teach you, including what's cool and dangerous to the young adult crowd."

"Wow."

Lance and Shiro couldn't hide their embarrassment. Lance could tell that for as much as Shiro respected Coran, even he couldn't deny how out of touch the dark master was with popular human culture. Allura didn't seem to mind though as she bowed her head to Romelle.

"It is an honor to be hosting you at my residence, Romelle."

Romelle shook her hand.

"Oh none of that. I'm thrilled to be studying under Master Coran's tutelage and to get to know the daughter of his favorite client."

Allura then turned to Lance and Shiro.

"Thank you for keeping her safe."

"And as a reward for keeping your end of the bargain, here you go," Coran held out a box to him. "This incense should help your body relax and settle in to its human form. Try not to use them all at once, but feel free to test them out."

"Ah, thank you, Master Coran," Shiro accepted the gift. "I will use these wisely."

"Oh and Lance. Don't think I've forgotten about our deal. You must come over to the mansion and show us your material so far."

"I haven't forgotten," Lance laughed it off. "I'll send you guys a few samples this week."

"That would be great," Allura said. "Well, we should be off."

They said their goodbyes and once they were gone, Lance laid down on the couch. 

 

He checked his phone and found that Veronica agreed to give him all three tickets to the haunted house. He was about to ask Shiro, but decided to worry about it tomorrow. Instead, he put his phone down and waved a hand as a signal for Shiro to join him. Shiro complied and the two laid together, speaking about nothing, but having a good night nonetheless.


	19. Love Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang head out to the haunted house! But Shiro starts to act strange at the end of the attraction....

Lance met up with Veronica as he drove over to a halfway point they agreed to meet at: a regular fast food place with a convenience store connected to it. He met her after work and on a day she had off from her place. They didn't plan to stay long, Veronica taking the tickets out of her handbag and giving them to Lance. He handed her some money, courtesy of Pidge who offered to purchase the third ticket from her but was also far too lazy to go out with Lance to the meeting place (or so she claimed; Lance had a feeling she had other plans in mind that day). Before they departed, Veronica managed to get a quick word in.

"I'm pretty sure Mom wants Shiro over again."

"What makes you say that?"

"I was talking to her the other day and she couldn't stop talking about him. Even Dad commented on how 'upstanding' he was."

Lance laughed. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Yeah. She even used Nadia and Silvio as an excuse to have him come by again."

Classic Mama. 

"Well, I'll see when I can stop by again."

As Lance was about to turn, Veronica stopped him.

"Lance."

He paused.

"What's up?"

"You're not doing anything dumb, are you?"

"Dumb?"

She gave him a serious look. 

"You mentioned you were doing demon business the other day. And while normal people can't get into more trouble after making a deal with a demon, I know you would be able to find a way to make your situation worse."

Lance gasped.

"I am offended."

"Need I remind you of how you once got your arm stuck behind a boulder and how despite being stuck in one place, you managed to find a way to twist your ankle and break your nose."  
  
"That was a long time ago!"  
  
"That was last year."  
  
Lance huffed. But he was more offended over her implication that being with Shiro was a bad situation. He thought she could trust him. That she considered Shiro a decent guy for being a demon. Realistically, though, it's not like she was wrong either. He didn't know why he had felt offended. He kept that to himself as he responded to her.  
  
"I'm fine, sis. I swear." He tried to give her a smile. "Nothing bad's going on."

Veronica looked at him, analyzing him. Probably looking for signs that he was lying. Her feet started to face the direction of her car, seemingly accepting that Lance wasn't hiding anything from her.

"Alright. Just be careful, okay?"

"Of course. When have I not-" Lance spread his arms back and accidentally hit an older woman. He freaked out and apologized profusely to the woman, Veronica's face turning to disappointment as she wasted no time going into her car and driving off. 

* * *

It ended up being a group date so to speak. It wasn't a surprise when Hunk joined Pidge to go through the haunted house and Allura and Coran couldn't resist going, bringing Romelle in tow to show her more examples of how humans scare one another. They walked through the main gate and the place itself actually looked impressive. It wasn't anything to write home about, but still a lot better than most travelling haunted houses. 

"Humans built this all by themselves?" Romelle looked wide eye up at the haunted house.

"Indeed," Coran answered. "This is the result of human innovation."

"So she's seriously never been to Earth before?" Pidge asked Lance.

"Hey, I was surprised, too. But yeah, she's new to the whole human world thing."

"Aw, that's kind of cute," Hunk said. "She's like a Disney Princess."

"A demonic Disney princess," Pidge grabbed Hunk's arm, squeezing it tight. "But Lance, are you sure you'll be okay when we go in?"

"Of course I will. I-"

"Tickets, please."

Lance dug into his pocket and held his ticket out. 

"Oh, of-KEITH?!"

Keith stood in front of the group, wearing a grey version of the uniform which was a basic tee with the logo on the front and his name tag with bats on the corners. His hair was tied back to a low ponytail and his eyes had dark circles around them. Whether those were natural or make-up, Lance couldn't tell. And he couldn't contain his laughter.

"Oh my God, I can't believe you actually work here!"

"Can it, Lance," Keith growled as he swiped the ticket and did a thorough inspection of the stub.

"Aw, now that's no way to speak to a paying customer."

"But Lance, you didn't even pay for these tickets; Veronica gave them to you, remember?" Hunk passed his and Pidge's tickets to Keith.

"Hunk, not helping!"

"It's good to see you, Keith," Shiro said. "I was wondering why you didn't come along with us. I was beginning to think Lance lied about inviting you."

"I was surprised he even did." Keith gave the tickets back. "Anyway, just be careful when you go inside. And for the record, you will be in deep shit if you punch, kick, or hit the actors in any way. Especially you, Lance."

Lance scoffed.

"Look who's talking? And for the record, I'm not the sad, scared little boy I used to be." He placed a fist over his chest. "I feel like I've really grown since coming into contact with demons. I've faced many a trial that none would think was even possible. And I feel confident that I can get through this haunted house without fear!"

"C'mon Lance!" Pidge yelled from ahead with everyone else, including Shiro, having left him behind as he made his speech.

Lance kept his eyes on Keith as he moved forward. 

"You'll see, Mullet! You'll see just how brave I've become!"

 

 

After the first couple of steps, Lance let out a high-pitched scream as a poorly made ghost dangled in front of him. He hid behind Shiro, shaking his legs and keeping an eye out for any other booby traps. The other attendees merely laughed at the ghost, though Pidge laughed more at Lance's fear. Hunk looked up to try and catch a glimpse of the machinery used to drop the prop, but they had to move ahead to go along the rest of the attraction.

Shiro moved Lance forward, but put an arm around him and kept him close. 

"It's okay, Lance. It's all fake."

"I-I know that!" Lance mumbled. "I just, uh," he gulped, "I mean, Adam could be here and sabotage this whole thing."

"Adam isn't here." The two moved along the area, passing by fake corpses and cob webs. "And besides, I'm meant to protect you from harm. So long as we're bonded, you won't get hurt."

Lance gripped his shirt and continued with the tour. He let go of Shiro as an actor who pretended to be a zombie got up from the floor and started flailing his arms towards them. Shiro grabbed his hand and held it tight. 

As they stepped on the stairs, the stairs started moving upward, surprising all of them.

"An escalator," Hunk observed. "I never would have thought of that."

"How did they even install one in here?" Pidge looked down. 

"Ooo," Allura and Romelle clasped their hands and awed together. 

By the time they reached the second floor, screams and moans echoed through the walls. They were loud and overwhelming and sounded painful. Shiro kept a tight hold on Lance's hand. They entered a room that had decapitated heads atop a neatly made bed. Lance swore one, if not all, was looking straight at him. What didn't help were the crude drawings of mutilated people, one of them looking similar to him. He gulped.

The next scream didn't come from him, but rather Hunk and Pidge as before they even stepped into the next room, an actor dressed in overalls and blood stains with crazy wild hair and swirling eyes (contacts) jumped in front of him. Hunk and Pidge got over their initial fear as they laughed it off. Romelle tried to greet the actor, but Allura had to remind her that interacting with horror house actors isn't usually a good idea and that they have to keep moving along so that others can experience the house. Lance began to sweat. 

_If it helps, close your eyes. I'll guide you through the rest of the way._

Lance blinked. He had forgotten about their telepathic communication. He was about to reject Shiro's request when the following room had an actor looking in a mirror with various beauty products on the sink and looking back at the group with a disfigured, melted face and withered hair on their scalp. He shut his eyes tight.

 

"Lance, it's over."

Lance slowly opened one eye despite feeling the heat of the sun over his head. They were outside, having come out from the side of house. He looked over his shoulder to see that they must have exited through a kitchen as he could see a sink behind the drapes of the window next to the door. He sighed in relief.

"That was so cool," Hunk gleamed. "I mean, it was scary, but cool."

"Yeah, I really liked the special effects," Pidge bounced.

"But wouldn't it have been more scary if they actually came after us?" Romelle asked. "I mean, if it's meant to scare humans, what's scarier than being prey?"

"It's all an act," Coran informed her. "Humans have to worry about stuff such as liabilities. Otherwise, they'd get sued for harming patrons."

"Hm....still doesn't make much sense, but I suppose."

"Ah, but Lance, did this place inspire you for your video log series?" Coran asked.

Lance blinked. 

"Huh? Oh....well, I actually wasn't thinking of that." He let go of Shiro's hand as he thought about what he did see and if that could be used. "Mmm.....I don't think it's extreme enough."

"Extreme enough? You were the first one to scream." Pidge perked an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, well," he faked cough into his hand, "I was just pretending. For Romelle's sake."

"Why for me?"

"Uh....to show you how humans get scared. And to show you what kind of reaction you should get from people if you're going to scare them."

"Oh, how considerate of you. I was under the impression that you were frightened half to death."

Hunk and Pidge frowned in disappointment, but Lance was just glad she bought it. He was going to ask Shiro for clarification, but he noticed Shiro's attention was elsewhere. He looked in the direction Shiro was facing and saw two actors off set laughing with one another, one arm over the other's shoulder. One of the men got out his mask and they shared a side hug before giving each other a quick kiss on the lips as he put the mask on and entered the house. 

"Uh, Shiro?"

Shiro blinked as he glanced at Lance.

"Huh? What's up?"

"Everyone was thinking of going out to eat. You wanna come?"

"Yeah. Let's go." 

Shiro walked past him, not conveying much emotion or input in the conversation. Lance thought it was strange. He had his doubts that he knew those guys. Maybe they reminded him of something. Or someone. 

* * *

 

Lance was making himself dinner while Shiro took in the incense in their bedroom. He wasn't sure if it was necessary to not have it combined with other scents, but he supposed Shiro wanted to be careful. While Shiro seemed to go back to normal when they went out for lunch, he couldn't stop thinking of the way he looked at those actors. Maybe they looked familiar to people he had met before. Or demons he had known in the demon realm. It was trivial to think about it, but Lance couldn't stop thinking about it. 

He let the rice simmer a bit as he got to prepping the vegetables. He was in the middle of chopping them as Shiro opened the door and came out of the room. 

"You look normal," Lance remarked as he looked up, having paused his cutting.

"Normal for humans? That's what I was aiming for," Shiro leaned against the archway that connected the kitchen to the living room. "Need any help?"

"Uh....."

Shiro furrowed his brows. "Help setting the table."

"Oh," Lance sighed in relief. "If you want." He chopped the remaining pieces and then set them on the pan that had been heating up for a while. He moved the pieces around. "You can leave the plates next to the stove."

Shiro didn't use his demon powers to gather the items. He opened the cabinet and picked out the plates, setting them down on the counter like a regular human.

"I don't use my powers for everything," Shiro answered Lance's unasked question as he opened a drawer to get the forks. "If I did, then I'd be lazy."

"Not a demon of sloth, are you?"

"Far from that sin."

Shiro opened the fridge to grab two cans of iced tea. He set the drinks and forks on the table, gaze looking out the window far from him. Lance took it as Shiro being bored.

"Oh, you can turn on the TV if you want." He checked on the rice which had steam coming out. "Put it on whatever channel you'd like."

He heard the TV turn on as he put the food on the plates. When he carried them over, he noticed Shiro left it on a nature show of some kind. The screen showed footage of lions in the savanna, hunting prey in the wild and bringing game to the pride. Lance dug in, letting Shiro enjoy the show a little bit longer before bugging him to eat. As he got his drink to wash down the food, the footage changed to show that of owls flying in the night sky. An owl picked up mouse that had been trying to run on the ground, instantly killing it with its talons.

"Eesh, I'd hate to be that mouse," Lance said. "Personally, I think I'm more like those lions they showed earlier. Graceful, strong, and not to be messed with."

Shiro didn't respond. His eyes were glued to the TV.

"Uh...Shiro?"

He waved his hand in front of him. 

"Oh, sorry," Shiro blinked. He picked up the remote and turned the TV off again.

"You didn't have to turn it off if you were into it."

"I know," Shiro picked at his food. "I was just...focused on something else..."

Was he thinking of Adam? That would be weird, though. Just because Adam's true form resembled an owl didn't mean that all owls are associated with him. Or were they? Lance didn't know how animals and demons worked. He wondered if that meant Shiro was connected to deer and lions. Wait, did this mean Shiro was connected to Bambi?

Shiro pushed his plate forward.

"I haven't been very honest with you."

Lance put his fork down.

"Honest? About what?"

Shiro glanced to the side before bringing his focus back to Lance.

"About Adam and I. About our past together."

"I know you were exes. I thought that was all....that was all you wanted me to know."

"Yes. But I want to tell you more about us. I think it's only right that you know."

"Alright." Lance moved his plate aside. He took his phone out of his pocket and put it on silence before putting it back in. "Tell me what you want me to know." 

Shiro looked down at his lap. He scooted himself closer to the table and waved a hand. It showed a smoky silhouette of himself in his true form.

 

"During my earlier years of existence, well, the first one thousand years I can remember anyway, I had grown bored. I had a few souls under me, but I didn't really speak with them unless I had to feed. I figured I could take on the job of torturing damned souls for a while. That's when I met Adam."

Adam's true form silhouette appeared next to Shiro's. 

"He had fewer souls than me, but he mostly wanted to learn everything there was to our home realm. He believed that one day he'd become a Dark Master himself. And I supported his dream."

"You supported him becoming a Dark Master?!"

"Being a Dark Master doesn't mean you get to unleash fury on Earth if that's what you're wondering. I believe I've explained before that Dark Masters are some of the elite demons. For a better understanding, consider them like your CEOs or your chairmen."

"Heh, I knew that."

"Anyway, the two of us worked side by side and soon we fell in love." 

The silhouettes held hands. 

"We enjoyed torturing the souls that came in our domain. We shared stories when we were contracted by humans. We climbed the ranks of our hierarchy and earned the respect of low level and high level demons alike. But sometimes it takes age to realize what it is you truly love."

Smoke figures of cities, rivers, money signs, hearts (whole and broken), and books formed.

"Aside from contracts, I had been assigned tasks on Earth. Whether it was to influence mortals to commit bad deeds or monitor portals. And the more time I spent on Earth, the more I grew to appreciate your kind. You humans led such interesting lives. At first, I took it as entertainment. And then, I realized how complex your emotions truly were. I had always known that morality wasn't simply black and white. But I didn't experience the beauty of grey morality until I started becoming invested in your lives. Adam noticed that the more I spoke of humans, the more admiration was in my tone and voice.

"I should clarify that Adam doesn't hate humans. He likes them and would never want to wipe humanity out. But that's because he thinks of humans more as batteries than people. He grew concerned when I started speaking with the souls in my attendance and asking them about their lives. He couldn't understand my fascination with them. I wasn't trying to be a guardian to humans, but I had a newfound respect for them. Adam viewed it as a sign of weakness and he was too embarrassed to have a partner have a weakness like that. And that's why we broke up."

The silhouettes faded away.

"I must confess that the break-up was something I had a difficult time moving past. I'm ashamed to admit that I began acting more coy and wicked with my humans as a way to show him that I was still not a demon to be messed with. But he never looked back at me. All those years I spent supporting him were meaningless. And I was the one who wasted them."

Shiro moved his head back. 

"I don't care what he thinks of me now. What I care about is how much he influenced my life and the way I approach things. I should have been more honest with you earlier."

 

If it wasn't official before, it was now: Adam was a dick. A major dick. 

"Maybe I'm being too biased here-"

"No!"

Lance put his hand atop Shiro's. 

"Shiro, it's fine. I don't care if this is only your side. I....you should know that it's okay to talk to me about stuff like this. I mean, if you want to that is. Just because I'm more of a talker doesn't mean I can't be a good listener." He chuckled. "I mean, who hasn't shit-talked about their ex anyway."

"Oh, so are there any exes you'd like to go over with me?"

"Uh...I...."

Shiro smiled.

"Thank you, Lance."

Lance's heart skipped a beat.

"Y-yeah. Any time."

Shiro removed his hand and moved the plate forward. 

"Talking about this really did help," he picked up some vegetables and ate them. After he swallowed he said, "I'm glad you're the one I was open about this to."

Lance gave a nod. But then he took in that last sentence. _The_ one? Before he could ask for an elaboration, Shiro pointed out Lance's unfinished plate. Lance didn't bring it up for the rest of the evening, though it would still linger in his mind as to what Shiro could have meant. 


	20. New Safeword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance needs to come up with a new safeword because Shiro doesn't like the current one.

Hunk and Pidge were talking as if he wasn't there. Keith sat idly on the rolling chair, arms over the back seat as he listened in on their conversation. And all Lance could do was think about how dry he felt down there. Hunk may have kept his place tidy, but Lance knew his friend well. There were condoms hidden under the TV and when Lance used the bathroom, there was a bottle of lube under the sink. And he knew that wasn't the only bottle, there was another one in his bedroom. 

Pidge wore her longer shorts despite how warm it had been lately. While she wasn't normally the type of girl to wear mini shorts or skirts, he knew that she typically showed off more in this weather. Thus, the best conclusion was that Hunk had left some marks on her the previous night. And Hunk opted on wearing a shirt that was mostly concealing, meaning Pidge returned the favor. And here they were, having invited him and Keith over as if they didn't have kinky sex the previous night. He wanted to scream. He hadn't gotten anything from Shiro lately and it wasn't even because anything serious happened. 

"I don't know, Pidge. I'd think if aliens were watching us, it'd more likely that they'd be incognito and disguised as humans than watching us from the sky-"  
  
"Sky is not a stupid safeword, Keith!"

Everyone blinked, surprised by Lance's outburst. He turned away from them, upset that he had blown up over that.

"Uh, Lance. You okay, buddy?" Hunk reached out.  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just fine. I was just thinking that 'sky' is a perfectly valid safeword and not at all dumb. Certainly not dumb enough to tell your partner that you won't fuck them until they come up with a new one." 

"Ah, relationship problems," Pidge sat on her knees. 

"Uh...TMI, Lance," Keith rested his chin over his arms.

Lance felt dumb. He looked to Hunk and Keith apologetically.

"Sorry. I didn't mean...." he sighed. "Look, let's just get back on track. You nerds were talking about aliens, right?"

"Lance," Hunk looked at him with concern. "It's okay. We don't mind hearing you out."

"We don't?" Keith asked, only to wince in pain as Pidge elbowed his side. "I mean, I guess it's okay?"

Lance sighed. "Well, you guys heard my outburst. Any suggestions for a good enough safeword?"

Hunk, Pidge and Keith pondered on it.

"Oh," Hunk raised a finger. "How about red?"

"Too normal."

"Peanuts?" Pidge suggested.

"Too out of place."

"I thought that's what a safeword is supposed to be."

"Yeah, but if he doesn't like 'sky' then I don't know what he'd be okay with."

"Hot potato," Keith said.

Everyone looked at him with quizzical looks.

"Uh...warm potato?"

Lance was doomed. He wasn't going to come up with a safeword him and Shiro would like. The only he could get that demon dick is if he ordered it from Shiro. But then that would skew the lines of consent and Lance didn't want a moral dilemma when asking for kinky sex, even if Lance was on the receiving end. 

Pidge tapped her foot when she said, "Why not say 'and scene?'"

"And scene?"

"Well, you are filming your experiences with him. What if you looked at your sex life as a movie scene you and Shiro are directing. That way, no matter who it comes from, you guys will know when to stop."

Lance thought on that. Yeah, he could get behind that. And he was certain Shiro would, too.

"That's a great idea!"

"Good," Keith sighed. "Now can we get back to-"

"I should get going," Lance got up and grabbed his stuff. "I'll see you guys around," he raised his hand to wave as he walked away from them.

"Wait, Lance-"

And with that Lance was out the door. 

 

 

"Shiro!"

Lance loudly entered the apartment with a black plastic bag in his hand. He didn't know Shiro was asleep until he heard a thud on the floor. 

"Agh! Lance!" Shiro popped his head up with his brows furrowed and his antlers out. "What is it?"

Lance gave a smirk, holding the bag out.

"Get ready, demon boy. I'm ready for sex!"

Shiro stretched his arm, closing the door behind Lance.

"You better have thought of a good safeword for us to use if you're being this loud."

Lance pranced over to the armrest of the couch, taking out the bottle of lube. 

"How does 'and scene' sound?"

"And scene?"

"Mhmm," Lance gently put his leg against the crook of Shiro's neck. "I mean, we are the stars of our little supernatural experience. We can act like we're performing in front of the camera. And if things get too intense for either of us? And scene!"

Shiro sighed, pushing Lance's leg off of him.

"It's better than 'sky.'" Shiro stood up taking the bottle from Lance's hand and picking out a condom from inside the plastic bag. Then he noticed the packaged cock ring and took it out, holding it between his fingers. "Honestly, Lance. It hasn't even been a week."

"It's torture when I'm not having sex over something petty!"

Shiro shook his head, dropping the cock ring in Lance's hands. "And here I thought I was the one that needed sex to appease me." He put a hand over Lance's head. "I have something I want to put you in. Get undressed and I'll show you."

A flush of blood reached Lance's face as Shiro clomped away, Lance looking down to see his hooves sticking out. He opened up the packaging for the cock ring before undressing himself. He did a last check-up with his phone, where he had gotten a few messages from his friends. Admittedly, he didn't need to leave them in a rush. But he had been desperate to have kinky sex with his demon. He messaged an apology to Hunk for abandoning them over a dick appointment. He promised to take them out to see that horror movie that was coming out soon to make it up to them. 

He set his phone on silent and finished stripping down to his bare bottom. He was going to go in the bedroom, but before his hand could touch the doorknob, the apartment was covered in darkness.

 

 

"Uh....Shiro...." Lance looked around the apartment, legs shaking and backing away from where the door once was. There were purple lights that illuminated the area, a sacrificial looking altar rising up. 

Shiro's golden eyes appeared as did a shining white fanged grin. He wasn't quite in his true form, but definitely bigger than his usual in-between form. 

"Like it?" He lifted Lance's chin.

"Oh...it's...new....What is this?"

"You were so needy. So desperate for something more thrilling." 

His tail curled over Lance's chest. 

Shiro snapped his fingers and shadows covered Lance's body. They formed into a deep blue toga that barely covered his torso and and left enough room that a slight wind could expose his cock. His wrists and ankles had golden bracelets and anklets that felt heavy on him. The cock ring that was in Lance's fingers was strapped around the base of his balls. A mirror appeared suddenly before him and he got a good look at himself. The outfit looked pretty good on him, though he wished he had make-up on. It would have made it better.

"Beautiful," Shiro placed clawed hands over Lance's shoulders, his huge frame not fitting in the reflection. He lowered himself to make himself seen in the mirror. "You make a lovely sacrifice."

Lance gulped. "Sacrifice?"

Shiro put a hand over Lance's neck where a golden choker covered it. There was a sapphire in the middle of it and it shined brightly. 

"You were offering yourself to me, were you not?" Shiro's long claw scratched underneath Lance's chin. "Remind me what you'll say if this is too much."

Lance took a deep breath.

"A-a-a....."

Shiro got on his knees, pulling Lance to his chest. He covered his hands with his own.

"Say what you've chosen. You know I am bound by your word."

Lance slipped his fingers in between the spaces between Shiro's.

"A-and scene."

"Good boy," Shiro kissed Lance's ear. He stood back up, towering over Lance. 

With a wave of his hand, Lance's wrists and ankles were pulled away by shadow strings. He was on his hands and knees on the altar, the weight of the jewelry pulling him down. Shiro stood over him, gripping a rod in his hands.

"As my sacrifice, you'll need to be marked before you take me."

His tail circled Lance's bottom.

"Your ass is so cute." The tip of the tail brushed between Lance's cheeks, making Lance shudder. 

"Is there anything I have to do?"

"No," Shiro pressed the rod against Lance's face. "Just stay like that while you get marked." Shiro walked behind Lance. "I'm gonna start off with this. Then I'll work my way to your back. And afterwards, I'll have you however I see fit. Simple enough?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good, good."

Shiro massaged Lance's ass. He sucked in a breath because he knew this gentle touch was only temporary. As soon as Shiro pulled his hand away, a whack hit Lance's bottom. It was hard and harsh, making Lance move slightly forward. It was followed by another whack and another. It really had been a while since he'd been spanked because his ass felt on fire. He was almost tempted to say the safeword, but he didn't want to. He had begged for this. And it still gave him the same sensual sensations across his body. 

He tried to look back to see what was going on exactly, but his head was pushed down by a heavy force. There was a double whack that pained his bum. He whimpered and shook. 

Shiro then neatly scratched his back. That definitely wasn't the marking for the back he had meant. The claws didn't dig into his skin. He wasn't bleeding. He was being petted. 

What did surprise him was the fwhip that hit his back. It wasn't the rod. It felt like numerous stings piercing at him. Tears welled up in his eyes. He pushed his head up, gritting his teeth so he could see what Shiro had used. 

It looked like numerous whips rolled into one. The main parts of the whips were pretty thin. It was there ends that were thicker and round. He sucked in another breath as Shiro whipped him again. He shut his eyes, trying to control the tears that were falling down. Shiro waited a few seconds before bringing down another fwhip, His lip quivered and sniffled, though he tried to contain it. It hurt so badly, but he had been wanting it for so long. He wanted to be Shiro's plaything. 

Another fwhip and Lance let out a cry. He banged his head against the altar. 

Shiro walked over to him, moving his face to get a look at him. His expression immediately turned to that of concern.

"Lance, are you okay?" He brushed his hair. "You know you can say 'and scene,' right? Do you need to say it?"

Lance sniffed as he looked to Shiro. He smiled and shook his head.

"No. I want this. Please continue."

Shiro breathed out, wiping away Lance's tears. 

"Are you sure? We can stop here or I can free you."

"Master, please. I want more."

Shiro sighed, cupping Lance's face and kissing his forehead. He kissed it more than once, almost as if to make up for the pain inflicted on his boyfriend.

 

The whip wasn't used anymore, but Shiro still used another tool to use on Lance. The soles of Lance's feet were wrapped with what felt like spiked vines. They weren't as harsh as the whip, but still stung. Shiro cupped Lance's balls and circled Lance's cock ring. 

"I can't wait to see how you like when I'm done."

Lance heard the squish of a bottle being squeezed before a cooling sensation hit his bum crack. The vines squeezed Lance's feet as Shiro put as much of himself in him as possible. He could hear Shiro struggle and grunt with the process, which put a smile on Lance's face. But it was Lance's turn to grunt when more of Shiro's member was thrust in him. 

Sweat trickled down Lance's head. He begged Shiro to go further in, wanting more of him. He couldn't move his feet, not even his toes. And that was fine. It was great. It was more than he could have ever thought of.

 

When they were done, the anklets and bracelets disappeared and his feet felt more free. Lance struggled to sit up, but Shiro helped him. The darkness in the room was vacuumed away as they were back in the apartment. Shiro put Lance in his arms, but he was still too big to fit in the apartment. He used his powers to create space that allowed him to stand up fully and cradle Lance in his arms. 

"Shit that was...amazing," Lance breathed, letting out a laugh before hugging himself from the pain that came from his bum, back and feet. 

"That was close." Shiro's hand glowed and Lance's toga waved as he put his hand over him. "You do know the purpose of a safeword, right?"

"I do," Lance pouted. "And I was perfectly okay getting myself....sacrificed to you?" He shifted himself in Shiro's arms. "What was that about anyway?"

"I....I wanted to try a bit of role-play. I should have told you before we got started. I'm sorry if it was weird."

Lance shook his head. "I liked it." He nuzzled against him, Shiro done using his hand to heal him. "I really wanted this. But I'm sorry if I worried you. If you feel uncomfortable seeing me like that, say 'and scene.' I won't be offended."

"If you promise to 'and scene' when you're going past your limits, then deal."

They hugged, Lance being squeezed by Shiro. Shiro set him down as he shrunk to his standard human height. 

Shiro helped remove Lance's cock ring and was going to put their items away when Lance had an idea.

"Oh, I know another safeword we could use." He hit a fist on top of his palm.

"Oh, let's hear it." Shiro turned to him.

Lance waved a finger. 

"Bambi!"

Shiro gave him a disappointed frown. 

"Do you prefer Simba?"

"New rule: you're not allowed to pick the safewords anymore. And scene was your last one."

"Aw, Shiro..."

Shiro went back to do whatever he was going to do. Lance focused more on admiring the toga on him and wondered if he could take some pics to save for Shiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a few things I wanna say. 
> 
> 1) There's a reference in this chapter. If you can figure out what it is, you get a virtual cookie! (I'll give you a hint: it's not at the end)
> 
> 2) I don't know when I'll post the next chapter, so I'll announce it here: I'm going to Anime Expo this year! I'm pretty excited about it and I'll be going for all 4 days. So once again, while I don't know when the next chapter will be posted, there definitely won't be an update from July 3-7.
> 
> 3) I have a Twitter now! Technically two, but I'll explain in a bit. For the longest time I've held off getting a Twitter. But I finally got one. I have a SFW one and a NSFW one. I hope to use my SFW one while I'm on my trip. As for the NSFW one, I'll share it, but you HAVE to be 18 years or older in order to follow me there. I'm also still active on Tumblr, but now you have another option on where to follow me. Here are the links.
> 
> SFW: https://twitter.com/CircusTalia
> 
> NSFW: https://twitter.com/BordelloCirque


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